The world learned this week that a 21-year-old National Guardsman is accused of leaking hundreds of classified documents on an online platform called Discord.
While Discord is used by an estimated almost 200 million people online, the service remains a point of confusion in big news stories including the military leak, recent mass shootings and extremist rallies.
What is Discord?
Discord is essentially a messaging platform, on which users can communicate directly with each other, either by text or in voice calls.
Inside Discord, communication happens on "servers," which are similar to "groups" on Facebook or Instagram. Each server can have separate "channels," smaller spaces for select members.
How did the military records leak on Discord?
According to multiple news reports, the top-secret Pentagon documents were originally posted inside a private Discord server accessible by just a couple dozen users.
The leaks reportedly became public after one of the members of the private Discord server began re-posting them on a different, larger Discord server. From there, the documents were shared to an even bigger Discord server focused on the video game Minecraft. And from there, the documents spread around the internet.
How Discord started and who uses it
Discord is immensely popular with gamers, and originally developed as a way for gamers who are playing multiplayer games to communicate with one another. Players could, for example, use Discord to join a group voice call with other players and communicate while they were playing.
But Todd was quick to add that millions of people who are not extremists also use Discord, which she said is becoming increasingly popular among online content creators. She noted that she recently set up her own Discord channel for her podcast.
