How Classified Pentagon Documents Spread Through a Minecraft Discord Server

The United States military is facing a massive information crisis after top secret U.S. documents regarding the war in Ukraine were leaked through multiple Discord servers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the documents reportedly contain details about the war in Ukraine, U.S. allies, American penetration of Russian military plans, and more. Dozens of documents have surfaced so far with many bearing “Top Secret” or “Secret” labels, according to the report.

What’s even more surprising is the path the information took across the internet. The documents apparently first appeared in a small Discord server with mostly American users. The information eventually passed through a Minecraft Discord server, with screenshots obtained by BBC dating the posts to early March. The classified information continued to spread, making its way through 4chan, Twitter, and Russian social network Telegram, before U.S. officials launched an investigation last week.

According to investigative news site Bellingcat, the leak may have started on a Discord server called WowMao, which is run by the YouTuber of the same name. A member of the server posted over 30 documents across March 1 and March 2, predating their appearance in the Minecraft server by a couple of days. It wasn’t until April 7 that the documents were removed from the Discord server.

However, Bellingcat’s report notes that the leak also may have originated as early as January in a now-deleted Discord server known as Thug Shaker Central. However, the report noted that it’s impossible to verify the authenticity of these claims given that the server no longer exists.

The Minecraft server in question is called Minecraft Earth Map. On March 4, two users were apparently arguing over Minecraft maps and the war in Ukraine, prompting one user to write, “here, have some leaked documents” while posting 10 documents about Ukraine. It seems the documents sat in this server unnoticed by government officials for over a month.

WSJ’s report says the U.S. is assessing the damage of the leak, calling it “one of the most significant leaks of highly classified U.S. documents in recent history”. Defense officials have said some of the documents appear authentic, but others may have been altered. The original source of the leak is currently unknown.

Now, Discord is working with law enforcement to investigate the leaks. In a statement to Kotaku, a Discord spokesperson said in part, “It is Discord’s highest priority to ensure a safe experience for our users. When we are made aware of content that violates our policies, our Safety team investigates and takes the appropriate action, including banning users, shutting down servers, and engaging with law enforcement.”

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.