14 DAY TRIAL // A recent poll conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union shows that Edward Snowden is not that popular among Americans, with some not even knowing who he is.
But the whistleblower can rest assured, as he’s got a few fans abroad. The international poll revealed that Snowden has more support from foreigners than from his fellow citizens.
US News reports that about one-third of the Americans have no clue who Edward Snowden is, while, in Germany, more than 95 percent of the people have admitted being familiar with the man.
Americans could not care less about who he is
Almost 64 percent of the Americans who know about Snowden have a negative opinion about him, and it’s generally the young population that regards him as a national hero, mainly because they are the ones worried about government agencies gathering their personal information or keeping tracks of their online activities.
Snowden, who was granted asylum in Russia after the leak, was recently interviewed by John Oliver and the comedian took the streets to ask people whether they have heard about the patriot, but most people serenely answered that they had no idea who the man was.
One of the reasons for this is the fact that most Americans are not very interested in the matter of government surveillance, probably because they are not fully aware of what it involves.
With some calling him a national hero and others a traitor, it cannot be denied that Snowden has acquired quite some fame and that there are a lot of people who support him and his actions. Although not much has changed ever since he disclosed the classified information, it was still considered a step forward in the fight for democracy and stricter privacy regulations.
Since it is very unlikely that Snowden will be able to go back to his country anytime soon, given the U.S government's unwillingness to cooperate with his lawyers, then his abroad popularity could actually be more relevant for the refugee.