U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, deployed to Poland near Przemysl, Poland, on February 21,2022. (Reuters)

According to newly-disclosed information, the source of the leaked US documents is a man in his early to mid-20s who works on a military post and is known for his critical views of the US government.

The Washington Post published an exclusive piece late Wednesday that presented a description of the guy behind the leaks and provided insight into how the disclosures came to be. The story was based mostly on information given by a minor who met the leaker online four years ago in a Discord server for fans of the YouTuber Oxide.

On the condition of anonymity, a second member of the same online forum confirmed the teen's claims. WashPo was also given 300 photos of secret papers, chat records, and an audio recording of the source of the leaks chatting with his friends.

The leaker was apparently seen at a shooting range yelling racial and antisemitic comments before discharging his pistol in one footage reviewed by the website.

The adolescent told the magazine that the leaker, designated as 'OG,' began making his own reports of the secret material and distributing the data in their own, smaller group chat for several months. He would also take advantage of the chance to educate the company on military lingo.

As the conversation became a pandemic sanctuary filled with memes and inappropriate jokes, 'OG' utilized the site to keep members "in the loop" about international events and government actions, according to the minor.

Later on, 'OG' became angry with the group for not giving enough attention to the things he was sending them. “He got upset, and he said on multiple occasions, if you guys aren’t going to interact with them, I’m going to stop sending them," the minor said.

While participants were aware that the material they posted was not intended for other eyes, images shared by 'OG' were inevitably passed on to another online community, unknown to the so-called 'tight-knit' group of pals. It was discovered that the materials had been shared by another adolescent.

'OG' did not appear to be concerned about his conduct until the New York Times published its first piece on the Pentagon leaks. According to the youngster quoted by the Post, 'OG' was "frantic," and he "seemed very confused and lost as to what to do."

According to the teen, 'OG' is "fully aware of what's happening" and seems distraught about the situation. He refrained, however, from calling him a whistleblower like Edward Snowden.

He maintained that he would protect his identity due to their friendship and that 'OG' asked members online to delete any material that may be linked back to him.

Following the leak of US "top secret" documents, CBS News reported, on Wednesday, that the Pentagon significantly reduced the number of government-employed officials that receive classified information.

Last week, confidential documents containing US national security secrets were leaked online on platforms such as Discord, Telegram, and Twitter. The documents were related to China, Ukraine, and the Middle East - including sensitive intelligence reports, Ukraine war plans, and information on allies that the US obtained through spying on them.

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