The Dirty Secrets of a Global Smear Campaign

Plus: Jimmy Carter’s rock-and-roll legacy; and scenes from a general strike in Paris. View in browser | Update your preferences Monday, March 27, 2023 In today’s newsletter, the power of private intelligence, and then: • Jimmy Carter’s rock-and-roll legacy • Scenes from a general strike in Paris • How did guns get so powerful? The Dirty Secrets of a Smear Campaign Rumors destroyed Hazim Nada’s company. Then hackers handed him terabytes of files exposing a covert campaign against him—and the culprit wasn’t a rival but an entire country. Photograph by Mattia Balsamini for The New Yorker At first, it appeared to be a simple scam: someone impersonating an American businessman named Hazim Nada was trying to get access to his phone records and bank accounts. But then articles disparaging him and his billion-dollar commodities-trading company appeared online. More stories landed, linking him to religious extremists and terrorism. Within months, pending deals were scuttled, his personal bank accounts were closed, and, eventually, the company was forced to cease operations and seek bankruptcy protection. And then things got really strange, as David D. Kirkpatrick explores in a riveting and deeply alarming investigation in this week’s issue. Hackers came forward to offer Nada a tantalizing but troubling offer: they possessed a huge cache of data from the private-intelligence firm that had worked to destroy him, and were willing to share it. Soon, Nada was poring over the plot to ruin him, and discovering the identity of the world leader who’d financed it all. As Kirkpatrick writes in this must-read story, “His experience felt increasingly surreal: he was witnessing his own downfall through the eyes of the man who had caused it.” Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » From the News Desk Letter from the South Jimmy Carter’s Rock-and-Roll Legacy The former President has a surprisingly long list of musician friends, some of whom, in the past days and weeks, have been reflecting on the time they’ve had with him. By Charles Bethea Annals of Technology How Did Guns Get So Powerful? Decade by decade, firearms have become deadlier—and tightened their grip on our collective imagination. By Phil Klay Cover Story “I didn’t always care about the light or the sun, but, now that I’m older, I do—and I care a lot.” The artist Luci Gutiérrez talks about her cover for this week’s issue, titled “Rise and Shine.” Editor’s Pick Letter from Jerusalem Benjamin Netanyahu’s Complex Histories As Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister brings the country to the political brink, a foundational look, from 1998, at the motivations that have long driven him. By David Remnick Culture Dept. Books How an East German Novelist Electrified Socialist Realism Seizing upon the margin of artistic freedom she was allowed, Brigitte Reimann captured life in the G.D.R.—and her own fissured commitments. By Joanna Biggs Paris Postcard Walking Paris’s Garbage-Strewn Streets With France’s public trash collectors joining a general strike, the city has been divided in two: the Trashes and the Trash-Nots. By Lauren Collins Photo Booth Annals of Inquiry The Secret Art of the Family Photo They’re the pictures that mean the most to us. What makes them good? By Michael Johnston Fun & Games Dept. Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Will Nediger Daily Shouts Dear Pepper: How the Cookie Crumbles A not-so-sweet dilemma. By Liana Finck Crossword A Challenging Puzzle Two-player two-pointers: nine letters. By Will Nediger Daily Cartoon Monday, March 27th By Akeem Roberts P.S. A new TV adaptation of Charles Dickens’s “Great Expectations” is “a slice of Victoriana soaked in Red Bull,” according to our critic Inkoo Kang. Although some traditionalists might find the series too radically modern, it’s worth remembering that Dickens himself was a charismatic showman and prototypical celebrity. As Louis Menand has noted, “At his public readings to packed houses, audiences wept, they fainted, and they cheered.” Today’s newsletter was written by Ian Crouch. Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2023. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.