Twitter documents and communications published by the journalist Matt Taibbi have provided devastating detail on a sweeping censorship operation conducted by the social network. They expose the central role played by a senior FBI agent in influencing the outcome of the 2020 US election.
Immediate reaction to the Twitter Files was mixed, but overwhelmingly the co-conspirators in mainstream American media have rushed to pour cold water on Taibbi’s bombshell disclosures, with, for example, The Washington Post branding them a “dud” and CNN claiming they “largely corroborated what was already known.”
Such responses are quite extraordinary given that the Twitter Files offers incontrovertible evidence of one of the largest, most influential global social networks taking extraordinary measures – usually reserved to prevent the dissemination of child pornography – to block information on its platform.
In particular, Twitter banned, both publicly and privately, the sharing of a New York Post article, based on the contents of a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, pointing to possible corruption on the part of his father, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden. The report reinforced existing concerns about Hunter’s role with Burisma, for which he received up to $50,000 per month from the Ukrainian energy giant over a five-year period for attending a handful of corporate events.
Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook restricting a story about Joe Biden’s son during the 2020 election was based on FBI misinformation warnings.
The New York Post alleged leaked emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop showed the then vice-president was helping his son’s business dealings in Ukraine.
Facebook and Twitter restricted sharing of the article, before reversing course amid allegations of censorship.
The Hunter Biden laptop is a laptop computer that was used by Hunter Biden, the son of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. In October 2020, the New York Post published a series of articles alleging that the laptop contained emails and other documents that showed the Biden family engaging in unethical and corrupt activities. The authenticity of the emails has not been confirmed and the Biden family has denied the allegations in spite of the insurmountable evidence.
The material exposed by Taibbi shows that a decision was made by individuals at the highest levels of Twitter – with direct connections to Biden’s Presidential campaign – due to apparent fears the laptop contents had been hacked and/or had been released as part of a Russian information operation. This was despite there being zero evidence or even a vague suggestion that either was the case, and significant internal concerns.
The Twitter Files show how, among the top brass involved in the suppression of this hugely significant story was the social network’s legal vice president Jim Baker, a former FBI general counsel. He was coincidentally also fundamental to the Bureau’s multiple attempts to fraudulently concoct a link between Trump’s campaign and Russia, one way or another.
The Russiagate scandal is a political scandal involving alleged interference by the Russian government in the 2016 United States presidential election. It has resulted in multiple investigations by the US government, including one led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The scandal has included allegations of Russian hacking and the dissemination of stolen emails, as well as accusations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
The scandal has led to the indictment of several people associated with the Trump campaign, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former advisor Roger Stone, and former national security advisor Michael Flynn. The scandal has also forced President Donald Trump to face questions about his connections to Russia and his possible involvement in the scandal.
The Mueller report concluded that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
