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14 April 2016updated 27 Jul 2021 11:29am

GCHQ stopped a Harry Potter leak, but what do the books say about government surveillance?

 A significant portion of the Harry Potter series is devoted to critiquing the invasions of a surveillance state.

By Anna Leszkiewicz

GCHQ, the government’s intelligence agency based in Cheltenham, has reportedly intervened over a leak of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

This isn’t technically true – as the “leaked copy” they identified was a fake – but it’s a nice, patriotic story: The UK’s surveillance headquarters defend Pride of Britain, JK Rowling!!

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