March 30, 2025 — 5.00am
Ahh Mike Waltz. You’ve gone and done it now. As Donald Trump’s national security adviser you’ve accidentally added high-profile journalist Jeff Goldberg to a confidential and sensitive chat about a forthcoming military strike. You silly duffer!
Look, Mike, I get it. We’ve all been there. We’ve thrown together a WhatsApp group about a friend’s birthday present and inadvertently included that friend. “Do we really need to spend $50 on Michelle this year?! She already has everything!!” We’ve texted something nasty about someone, and sent it to that someone by mistake. “Joe claims to be a feminist but you can tell he’s a f---boy in disguise.” Or we’ve sent top-secret information that should have remained among a select group of high-level government officials to a journalist whose job it is to literally share information with the world. “Waddya reckon boys, should we send over some missiles and obliterate those pesky Houthis?”
There are some things just too private for a group chat that might accidentally include an award-winning investigative journalist.
There are some things just too private for a group chat that might accidentally include an award-winning investigative journalist.Credit:
It’s an easy mistake. But my goodness, doesn’t it cause a fuss? It’s no biggie, of course, but it really is best to try not to do it again. Save yourself all the explaining.
Over my time of being a human in a world where we use phones, I’ve come up with a checklist, some top tips to avoid these little mishaps.
First, check who’s in the group. It’s not necessary to do this all the time. Your family group chat, for example, probably doesn’t need a regular audit. Anyone who randomly ended up in there would cop half a day’s worth of photos of your sister’s new baby or your cousin’s Euro trip, before heading straight for the “leave group” button. But for something more sensitive, it’s best to do a once-over on the group attendees before dropping anything significant, like a detailed airstrike plan. If there’s an unknown “JG” in there, that’s probably a sign something isn’t right. If you’re struggling with these instructions, just find any person Gen Y or younger for help.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz sought to shift the blame.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz sought to shift the blame.Credit: Bloomberg
My second tip is to not send the serious stuff. I know it’s tempting, when you’ve got a secret, to start firing off the messages. You want to talk about it. Spread the news! But there are some things just too private for a group chat that might accidentally include an award-winning investigative journo. It’s like sharing news of a pregnancy in its early days: if you want it to stay quiet, get the right people into a room and share the joy where no one can accidentally send “OMG! How far along are you?!” into the wrong group chat.
Third, despite your strict adherence to top tips 1 and 2, there may come a time when you do make a mistake and accidentally send the wrong thing to the wrong person. Again, it happens. We’re only human! If that does come to pass, it’s time for damage control. There’s no point in denying or minimising it. Statements like, “I was talking about a different Michelle,” or “F---boy? I meant friend” don’t actually help.Likewise, blaming the person you roped into the whole saga doesn’t stand up. For example, Mike, you might want to rethink calling Goldberg a loser and “the bottom scum of journalists”.
No, there’s only one thing to be done in these situations. You have to put your hand up and cop the blame. Phrases like, “I’m sorry, I’ve made a mistake” tend to work well. Or, “This is an oversight and I will ensure it never happens again” is also suitable. Take a deep breath and practise it in the mirror beforehand if that helps give you the confidence. Don’t say, “Well, if you have somebody else’s contact and then somehow it gets sucked in … it gets sucked in.”
My last piece of advice? Reflect. Does this experience make you feel differently about things? Do you look back at events in your life and see them from a new perspective? Could you, perhaps, forgive that ex-friend who accidentally badmouthed you within earshot? Could you spare some sympathy for the woman whose pregnancy news was released far too early because she sent her sonogram picture to the office gossip instead of her partner? Could you think of another person who used an insecure platform to communicate about confidential matters, inadvertently compromising national security, and perhaps regret the harshness with which that person was treated? You and your friends might even reach out to that person to apologise for the way you hounded her from all angles, contributing to her loss of the presidential race and subsequent disappearance from American politics.
Mike, I’m sure Hillary will be delighted to take your call.
Elsie Flanagan-O’Neill is a freelance writer.
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