Latest 'Twitter Files' dump shows FBI heavily involved in censorship on platform
By jdheyes // 2022-12-20
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While many Americans knew in their hearts and souls that Twitter "shadow-banned" and throttled their content because they posted points of view that cut across the grain of 'official narratives' on everything from politics to the COVID-19 pandemic, they didn't really have any proof that such censorship was actually taking place. Until Elon Musk bought Twitter, that is. Over the past month, Musk has been providing a handful of journalists with documented proof that not only did Twitter, under the previous management team, ban users and censor content over viewpoints but did so at the behest of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security under the phony guise of "fighting disinformation." The latest installment of the "Twitter Files" proves that the FBI was so involved at Twitter, it was acting as a "subsidiary" of the platform, according to journalist Matt Taibbi. "The #TwitterFiles are revealing more every day about how the government collects, analyzes, and flags your social media content," he began his most recent thread. "Twitter’s contact with the FBI was constant and pervasive, as if it were a subsidiary." "Between January 2020 and November 2022, there were over 150 emails between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth," the former head of that division of Twitter, Taibbi continued. "Some are mundane, like San Francisco agent Elvis Chan wishing Roth a Happy New Year along with a reminder to attend 'our quarterly call next week.' Others are requests for information into Twitter users related to active investigations." Taibbi noted that the FBI so abused its power and influence over the platform that censorship requests even veered into the absurd. "But a surprisingly high number are requests by the FBI for Twitter to take action on election misinformation, even involving joke tweets from low-follower accounts," he wrote. He also noted just how focused the FBI became on controlling the flow of information to the general public via social media after Donald Trump surprised everyone and won the 2016 presidential election -- leading the deep state to falsely claim in the years following his victory that he somehow "colluded" with Russia to "steal the election" from Hillary Clinton -- who actually colluded with Russia when her campaign helped commission and pay for the 'Russia dossier' gathered by former British spy Christopher Steele. "The FBI’s social media-focused task force, known as FTIF, created in the wake of the 2016 election, swelled to 80 agents and corresponded with Twitter to identify alleged foreign influence and election tampering of all kinds," Taibbi noted. "Federal intelligence and law enforcement reach into Twitter included the Department of Homeland Security, which partnered with security contractors and think tanks to pressure Twitter to moderate content." " The #TwitterFiles show something new: agencies like the FBI and DHS regularly sending social media content to Twitter through multiple entry points, pre-flagged for moderation," Taibbi noted further. "What stands out is the sheer quantity of reports from the government. Some are aggregated from public hotlines." Republicans were furious over the revelations that the FBI was helping Twitter censor mostly conservative content and users. "We’re going to do more than just subpoena them. We’re going to change the course of where the FBI is today," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is on track to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker next month, told Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo on Monday. "Every day we learn something more." "Why are they [the FBI] able to do this? Working together, using private businesses to go after individuals right before an election, denying the American public the truth?" McCarthy asked. Let's hope Republicans can find out because Democrats obviously are not interested. Sources include: ThreadReaderApp.com FoxBusiness.com
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