Cited on HN 4 times, 2019–2024, never outright recommendedscore 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Cited as the source clip whenever threads discuss government pressure, backdoors, or trust in the Linux kernel.
A short clip from the 2013 LinuxCon Linux Kernel Panel in which Linus Torvalds is asked about being approached to insert a backdoor into Linux. He answers no verbally while nodding yes, which became a much-shared moment.
“This is the clip where Linus did this” (HN, 2024)
RedHats collaboration with NSA is well documented. I think given what we know of past actions it's at best extremely naive to not at least entertain it as a possibility. Linus himself semi-openly admits he's been approached... [this video]
Torvalds' answer about being approached to add a backdoor.
Saving people the google search, I believe secfirstmd is referring to: [this video] For anyone not good with faces the guy responding is Linus Torvalds who created and still manages Linux.
Not in proper condition for a pithy reply, so I'll link drop instead. 1. The widely revered Torvalds reverse nod: [this video] Thanks for the earnest, humble insight. Edit: Removed irrelevant link.
> he said “No”, but at the same time he nodded This is the clip where Linus did this: [this video] The over-exaggerated nod and pronunciation make it seem to me like Linus was just making a joke, particuarly since it was followed up by a more serious "no".
Clip where Torvalds nods while saying no to backdoors.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.
4 Hacker News comments
From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.