YouTuber and Author John Green discusses story of being questioned by a "spy" after his email was hacked by the Russian government

YouTube content creator and prolific author John Green recently delved into the story of how he was contacted by a "spy", in a video uploaded to the Vlogbrothers channel. He also explained how this eventually turned into a full-blown meeting with the "spy," which left John a bit shaken.

In a video titled The Time a Spy Visited Me Because of P*tin, he stated that he and his brother Hank Green, a well-known science communicator, had been notified by the Google-backed email service, Gmail, that their email had been "accessed" by a "foreign government":

“Several years ago, you (Hank) and I both got huge red messages from Gmail that was like, we believe your email has been accessed by a foreign government. And we were both like, well, that’s weird and unfortunate, but then we moved on with our lives.”

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John Green describes his meeting with a "spy" after being hacked by the Russian government

Explaining the encounter further, John Green stated he eventually received a call from a friend a few months later. This individual then stated that a "diplomat" was coming to Indianapolis for the Indy 500, a well-known annual automobile race held within the city, and wanted to meet with him during his time there.

Eventually, the two started conversing directly with each other and met in person. During their meeting, Green brought up the individual's job title, as mentioned in the email they had exchanged. He remarked that the title sounded like the individual was a "spy," to which the person had "no response," followed by a prolonged silence.

Upon being asked what his actual occupation was, the person stated that he "mostly worked in intelligence". The individual also revealed that he would not be able to make it for the race, which left alarm bells ringing for Green.

The individual then proceeded to ask John Green several personal questions, including his mortgage, about his family, his job, and his working relationship with his brother. The person also asked if John had ever traveled to Russia or been critical of the Russian government.

The person then stated:

"What I'm trying to understand is why the Russian government would be so interested in you and your brother that they go out of their way to hack your particular email."

Eventually, as John cleared things up with the man, the two seemed to end the conversation on a rather amicable note, following which John Green called his father to describe the exchange he had just had. To this, Green's father replied:

"Well, it sounds like they concluded you're neither an asset nor a threat, just a dad from Indianapolis."

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John Green's brother, Hank Green, had been afflicted by Hodgkin’s lymphoma in May 2023. To those unaware, it is a type of cancer that targets the body's lymphatic system. In August, he revealed that he had gone into "complete remission", a revelation that was met with much support from netizens.