Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Friday released the first part of ‘The Twitter Files’- a series of tweets by independent journalist and author Matt Taibbi exposing how the micro-blogging platform censored a controversial article on Hunter Biden in 2020.
Taking to Twitter, Musk wrote, “Here, we go!!” while sharing Taibbi’s thread that is based on “thousands of internal documents obtained by sources at Twitter.”
Here we go!! 🍿🍿 https://t.co/eILK9f3bAm
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2022
Taibbi began his tweet, “’’The Twitter Files’ tell an incredible story from inside one of the world’s largest and most influential social media platforms. It is a Frankensteinian tale of a human-built mechanism grown out the control of its designer.”
3. The “Twitter Files” tell an incredible story from inside one of the world’s largest and most influential social media platforms. It is a Frankensteinian tale of a human-built mechanism grown out the control of its designer.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 2, 2022
The independent journalist said, “Twitter in its conception was a brilliant tool for enabling instant mass communication, making a true real-time global conversation possible for the first time,” adding, however, as time progressed, “the company was slowly forced to add those barriers.” “Some of the first tools for controlling speech were designed to combat the likes of spam and financial fraudsters.”
6. As time progressed, however, the company was slowly forced to add those barriers. Some of the first tools for controlling speech were designed to combat the likes of spam and financial fraudsters.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 2, 2022
He wrote, “Celebrities and unknowns alike could be removed or reviewed at the behest of a political party. In 2020, requests from both the Trump White House and the Biden campaign were received and honoured.”
9. Celebrities and unknowns alike could be removed or reviewed at the behest of a political party: pic.twitter.com/4uzkHnQ65E
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 2, 2022
Moving to the most controversial part of the Twitter thread ‘How and Why Twitter Blocked the Hunter Biden Laptop Story’. He said, “On October 14, 2020, the New York Post published BIDEN SECRET EMAILS, an expose based on the contents of Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop.”
He claimed that the micro-blogging site “took extraordinary steps to suppress” New York Post’s story by removing links and posting warnings that it may be “unsafe.” He said, “They even blocked its transmission via direct message, a tool hitherto reserved for extreme cases, e.g. child pornography.”
18. Twitter took extraordinary steps to suppress the story, removing links and posting warnings that it may be “unsafe.” They even blocked its transmission via direct message, a tool hitherto reserved for extreme cases, e.g. child pornography.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 3, 2022
Taibbi continued in the lengthy tweet that the decision was made at the highest levels of the company, however, without the knowledge of CEO Jack Dorsey, with former head of legal, policy and trust Vijaya Gadde playing a vital role.
23. The decision was made at the highest levels of the company, but without the knowledge of CEO Jack Dorsey, with former head of legal, policy and trust Vijaya Gadde playing a key role.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 3, 2022
The tweet also reveals the detail of internal exchanges about Twitter’s move to restrict access to the article. The journalist also adds that US Representative Ro Khanna was the only Democrat who expressed concerns about the ramifications of Twitter’s decision.
30. In one humorous exchange on day 1, Democratic congressman Ro Khanna reaches out to Gadde to gently suggest she hop on the phone to talk about the “backlash re speech.” Khanna was the only Democratic official I could find in the files who expressed concern. pic.twitter.com/TSSYOs5vfy
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 3, 2022
New York Post article about Hunter Biden
In October 2020, New York Post published an article revealing that a top executive at a Ukrainian energy company was introduced to Joe Biden, then the US Vice President, by Hunter Biden less than a year before the elder Biden exerted pressure on the Ukrainian government officials to dismiss a prosecutor who was investigating the company.
After the explosive tweets, Elon Musk added, “Tune in for episode 2 of The Twitter Files tomorrow.”
Tune in for Episode 2 of The Twitter Files tomorrow!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2022
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