The White House Used The Trick Tyrion Lannister Used in Game of Thrones To Out A Leaker

Remember that part in Season 2 of Game of Thrones, when Tyrion Lannister promised Princess Myrcella to three different suitors? His clever technique: he gave different information to Littlefinger, Varys, and Grand Maester Pycelle to out Queen Cersei's minion.This same technique was used in a recent hunt inside the White House for the pseudonymous national-security tweeter @natsecwonk, according to the Washington Post:

Three weeks ago, the group hatched a plan to trick the suspected NSC staffer into revealing himself. They would intentionally plant inaccurate, but harmless, information with him to see if it would pop up as a 140-character tweet, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the effort.

This technique is often used in intelligence circles, and was popularized by Tom Clancy as a Canary Trap in his novel Patriot Games. The tweeter was eventually revealed to be Jofi Joseph, a National Security Council staffer involved in negotiations around Iran's nuclear program.

It seems that Tyrion Lannister's plot has inspired a lot of real-life news, like this fan demanding a trial by combat in a Supreme Court case.

Via TheAtlantic