You're missing the idea of securedrop.
Think of it like Operation Mockingbird on steroids.
Anyone who has studied Snowden in-depth knows that he is a CIA agent who was infiltrated into the ranks of the NSA in order to destroy the agency's reputation and ultimately shut it down.
So if you think about it that way, securdrop works with about 19 media outlets.:
The New Yorker
Forbes
bivol
propublica
the intercept
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Washington post
The Guardian
The Globe and Mail
Radio-Canada
CBC
AP news
NYT
BuzzFeed
USA todey
Bloomberg
WSJ
Aftenposten
ABC (Australia)
And I guess anyone with any sense understands that getting classified documents for free is a deal that no one will refuse and that it's not just about ratings and a supposed rise in the credibility of that newspaper or media outlet, but it's also a great tool to blackmail and control powerful people and influential bodies, so let you figure out what kind of deal Snowden made with those 19 media outlets, To each media outlet, he secretly transferred a certain amount of classified documents through securedrop, and in return, all 19 media outlets agreed to broadcast government propaganda under the auspices of the CIA.
And that's the difference between a whistleblower and a traitor, a whistleblower has a good will to expose the truth to the public and change and a traitor has a need for personal financial gain and the gratification of his governing body and all at the expense of U.S. national security.
And Snowden is a traitor