I think that a modern day gadfly is Edward Snowden. A couple years ago, he exposed a number of government secrets. He is a gadfly because he did so with no attempt to hide his identity. He thought there was nothing wrong with his actions and that it was simply information that the public deserved to be aware of. Though aware that he would suffer from his actions, he felt it was worth it to reveal the government's privacy encroachments on American citizens.
As any gadfly, Snowden received both support and negative responses for what he's done.
Did he have that purpose- to enlighten the American public or was that something he and his supporters came up with post-release? I really don't know what his intent was. Masterfully done though. Will we consent to the encroachment on privacy? That's the million dollar question.
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