Top Trump officials' Signal blunder becomes top news story of 2025
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The Atlantic story detailing how Trump aides inadvertently invited the magazine's editor to a Signal chat where highly sensitive information about a military strike was shared has easily become the top news story of the year globally, according to new data.
- A spokesperson for The Atlantic said it was "one of the top subscription driving stories" for the magazine of all time.
Why it matters: Rarely do U.S. national security stories gain this much traction so quickly around the world.
- #SignalGate is more than just a revelatory report, it's a viral sensation that's driving meme mania online.
- #SignalGate was the top story in the world across all English-language articles, according to NewsWhip, which measures social media engagement across Facebook and X.
Zoom out: Most stories that go viral on social media tend to be feel-good tales about everyday people or fear mongering stories about accidents or crime.
- The Atlantic has managed to uniquely penetrate the social zeitgeist with just plain journalism, which is rare.
- In fact, three of the top 10 most viral stories tracked by NewsWhip this year were published by The Atlantic.
The big picture: #SignalGate cements The Atlantic's success following a yearslong effort to turn around its business.
- After losing millions of dollars for several years, The Atlantic finally turned a profit last year.
- The magazine, one of the oldest in the country, has successfully built a digital subscription business, thanks in part to strong editorial gets and partnerships with third parties like Apple. Last March, the company said it had more than 1 million subscribers across digital and print.
- The company has hired a slew of big names over the past few months, including poaching Washington Post star reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer in December.
What to watch: Some Trump allies are trying to downplay the story, but even conservatives aren't buying it. (To be clear, a National Security Council spokesperson said, "The message thread that was reported appears to be authentic.")
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday called the story's author Jeffrey Goldberg a "deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes" when asked about the piece.
- In response to Hegseth's comments, Fox News' chief political analyst wrote on X, "Oh for God's sake, the administration has already confirmed the authenticity of the message."
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