Thousands of internal files from Madison Square Garden, which were hacked and released by the ShinyHunters ransomware group. Reporting by Wired based on the data prompted a lawsuit alleging defamation by the publication and claiming that increased scrutiny resulting from the reporting would lead to “foreseeable regulatory and political consequences” for Madison Square Garden.
Wired issued a statement in response to the lawsuit, saying:
We stand by this reporting, and plan to vigorously defend it against this baseless and ridiculous lawsuit. We look forward to continuing our coverage of MSG, and on billionaire James Dolan’s use of technology across his entertainment empire. It’s one part of our wider mission and the critical job of journalists, now more than ever: holding power to account.
The ShinyHunters files are presented here to allow the public to evaluate the reporting and Madison Square Garden’s allegations.
Research
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Madison Square Garden kept a list of gay celebrities (Wired) Archive link
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The shocking secrets of Madison Square Garden’s surveillance machine (Wired) Archive link
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For Taylor Swift, Madison Square Garden’s controversial cameras briefly went dark (Wired) Archive link
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Video: Inside Madison Square Garden’s surveillance machine (Wired) Archive link
Reference
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New York City lawmakers push to ‘Ban the scan’ at MSG (Wired) Archive link
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Hackers publish Knicks and Madison Square Garden data online (404 Media) [Paywalled: Archiving blocked by source]
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Madison Square Garden now suing Wired over its surveillance reporting (A.V. Club) Archive link
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Madison Square Garden sues Wired over article alleging celebrity ‘risk scores’ (USA Today) Archive link
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Wired statement 16 July 2026 on MSG lawsuit (Wired X account) [No archive link available]
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Wired statement 16 July 2026 on MSG lawsuit (Wired Instagram account) [No archive link available]
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“Baseless and ridiculous lawsuit”: Wired claps back in a statement after being sued by Madison Square Garden (PrimeTimer) Archive link
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Madison Square Garden allegedly kept a list of gay celebs who visited the venue (Them) Archive link
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Madison Square Garden v. Advance Magazine Publishers (New York State Supreme Court) Archive link
Source: Distributed Denial of Secrets