[tptacek]

Hastings died in a car crash. Hastings was a journalist who had covered national security topics. Therefore, Hastings was killed by the US government.

That is the entirety of the Hastings conspiracy theory, which the commenter leading this thread has promoted on HN in the past.

[dTal]

No it isn't, your syllogism is a straw man. Hastings died under what are commonly known as "suspicious circumstances", which you omit in your rush to denigrate. A more accurate summary:

Hastings was a journalist who had covered "national security" topics. Hastings sent the following email:

"Hey (redacted names) -- the Feds are interviewing my "close friends and associates." Perhaps if the authorities arrive "BuzzFeed GQ," er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues. Also: I'm onto a big story, and need to go off the rada[r] for a bit. All the best, and hope to see you all soon. Michael"

Hasting died 14 hours later at 4:20 AM when his speeding car veered into one of the many trees lining the road. There were no skidmarks, suggesting that the vehicle was under control. Nobody knows why he was driving at that time.

It's hardly ironclad proof of a conspiracy, but you are not contributing to the discussion.

[streetnigga]

You are the one that brought up conspiracy in reference to Hastings[0]. Stop lying as if I was the one to inject it into the topic of spying. This disinformation bull your are pulling is seriously detrimental to any possible discussion.

To everyone not tptacek: Look at my comments, none suggest Hastings died due to tptacek suggested conspiracy.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7294895