#IStandWithEdwardSnowden trends on Twitter as supporters attempt to protect The Guardian's PRISM whistleblower

After it was revealed that Edward Snowdon was the man who blew the whistle to The Guardian on the National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence leak, an internet meme #IStandWithEdwardSnowden is trending on Twitter in an effort to protect the 29-year old. Snowdon, a former technical assistant for the CIA was revealed last night as the source of the leak to The Guardian US over the US Government’s mining of global data, having worked alongside the NSA for the last four years while acting as a contractor. The Twitter meme has begun in an attempt to protect Snowden by those who feel that their privacy and freedom have been undermined by the US Government’s PRISM strategy, with Snowdon very likely to face prosecution for having spoken to the media about such a secretive strategy.

#IStandWithEdwardSnowden because governments must be held accountable to their citizens.

— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) June 9, 2013

Snowden is a patriotic defender of freedom and civil liberties who used his security clearance for good, not evil. #istandwithedwardsnowden

— Jerri(@jerrigirl) June 10, 2013

#IStandWithEdwardSnowden because our privacy contains joy & intimacy. Messy things we're still trying to sort. Dancing like nobody watches.

— Rachel Weidinger (@rachelannyes) June 9, 2013

#IStandWithEdwardSnowden because denial that this country has turned into what it believes it's fighting against is no longer a option #YAL

— YourAnonLive (@YourAnonLive) June 9, 2013

In speaking to The Guardian, he has also handed over screen grabs of the software running the data mining taken from a presentation alongside a note that stated: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," and "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."It was reported that Snowdon fully expected his identity to be discovered, which may account for The Guardian reporting on the source quickly in an effort to protect him as best as possible from prosecution that are expected to follow. Yesterday images of Boundless Informant, the software being used to collect and analyse global data by the US Government were published by The Guardian while the Governnent began investigations into the leak.