Yesterday on Twitter, I asked …
Anybody interested in Secret Santa, but for random declassified reports? #FOIA
— JPat Brown (@resentfultweet) December 18, 2017
The response was a pretty resounding chorus of affirmatives, so we’re doing this.
Alright, so here’s the rules.
- Fill out your name and email in the form below. For the privacy conscious, name doesn’t have to be real, but the email does. Seasonal nicknames are heartily encouraged. Form will be kept open until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 20th.
- On Thursday, December 21st, MuckRock’s patented Sort-o-matic Technology TM will match you up with another participating ̶S̶e̶c̶r̶e̶t̶ Santa. Please do not spoil the surprise.
- Find a declassified document to give your match. These could be taken from the Central Intelligence Agency archives, MuckRock’s completed requests, sites like Government Attic or Public Intelligence - wherever you get your fix. No classified records, please - plenty of time to violate the Espionage Act in 2018 - and as this is a holiday thing, try and keep it light. Less child causality reports, more dog ESP. Keep it to PDFs, if possible.
- On Friday, December 22nd, we’ll exchange declassified document drops, and sharing what we got with the #FOIAFriday hashtag on Twitter. Deadline to send the gift is 3pm EST, but if you want to jump the gun a bit, that’s fine!
- Be sure and thank your ̶S̶e̶c̶r̶e̶t̶ Santa for the Inspector General report on the failures of the Afghanistan Goat Giveaway. Follow each other on Twitter. “Like” each other’s jokes. Commiserate over transparency headaches. Form a lasting friendship that reminds you that even in the darkest of times, where there’s life, there’s hope. Retweet each other’s jokes. Same time next year.
Join in the fun through the form below:
Image by Alejandro Pena via Wikimedia Commons
