# The Road to Damascus [The Road to Damascus](https://www.pushkin.fm/episode/the-road-to-damascus/) is a [[Revisionist History]] episode that gives an example of how media leaks can be immoral. The story could be used to argue that **sometimes national security, and morality, should take precedence over [[The First Amendment]] and the freedom of the press.** The story boils down to the following: - **Terrorist walks into U.S. embassy seeking atonement. He wants to become an informant.** - **He provides essential information that allows capture of the Bin Laden of the time** - **The story is leaked to the NYTimes and they publish enough information to determine his identity.[^1] He is subsequently killed.** [^1]: [[C.I.A. Re-Examines Hiring of Ex-Terrorist as Agent]] The following questions come to mind: - Having been strongly urged by the CIA not to publish the story as it would undoubtedly endanger the asset, should they have refrained from publishing it? - Should the government restrict the freedom of the press in this case? This is a philosophical question, not a practical one. It would very much be unconstitutional in the U.S., but is standard practice in the U.K. for instance.