In the most explosive tranche of Twitter files yet, journalist Matt Taibbi dropped internal communications giving unprecedented insight into Twitter’s decision to ban President Donald Trump’s account

3. We’ll show you what hasn’t been revealed: the erosion of standards within the company in months before J6, decisions by high-ranking executives to violate their own policies, and more, against the backdrop of ongoing, documented interaction with federal agencies.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 9, 2022

The decision to remove a sitting President from Twitter was an historic act of censorship for a major tech platform

6. As soon as they finished banning Trump, Twitter execs started processing new power. They prepared to ban future presidents and White Houses – perhaps even Joe Biden. The “new administration,” says one exec, “will not be suspended by Twitter unless absolutely necessary.” pic.twitter.com/lr66YgDlGy

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 9, 2022

Twitter used standard censorship tools prior to January 6, but as January 6 approached high-level Twitter employees met with government officials with increasing frequency

10. As the election approached, senior executives – perhaps under pressure from federal agencies, with whom they met more as time progressed – increasingly struggled with rules, and began to speak of “vios” as pretexts to do what they’d likely have done anyway.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 9, 2022

Twitter head censor (head of Trust and Safety) joking about his frequent meetings with FBI

12. These initial reports are based on searches for docs linked to prominent executives, whose names are already public. They include Roth, former trust and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, and recently plank-walked Deputy General Counsel (and former top FBI lawyer) Jim Baker.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 9, 2022

 

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16. The latter group were a high-speed Supreme Court of moderation, issuing content rulings on the fly, often in minutes and based on guesses, gut calls, even Google searches, even in cases involving the President. pic.twitter.com/5ihsPCVo62

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 9, 2022

In fact, Twitter head of Trust and Safety Roth met with officials in multiple federal intelligence agencies

21. Roth’s report to FBI/DHS/DNI is almost farcical in its self-flagellating tone:
“We blocked the NYP story, then unblocked it (but said the opposite)… comms is angry, reporters think we’re idiots… in short, FML” (fuck my life). pic.twitter.com/sTaWglhaJt

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 9, 2022

Here we get direct confirmation that the FBI was flagging specific tweets related to election results for censorship

24. Here, the FBI sends reports about a pair of tweets, the second of which involves a former Tippecanoe County, Indiana Councilor and Republican named @JohnBasham claiming “Between 2% and 25% of Ballots by Mail are Being Rejected for Errors.” pic.twitter.com/KtigHOiEwF

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022

In all of the files Taibbi looked at, there was not a single request for censorship by Trump… all of the censorship requests came from Biden, Intelligence agencies, FBI, and other left wing groups

27. Examining the entire election enforcement Slack, we didn’t see one reference to moderation requests from the Trump campaign, the Trump White House, or Republicans generally. We looked. They may exist: we were told they do. However, they were absent here.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022

In an example of just how crazy Twitter employees were, we get a glimpse of their reaction to a clear joke tweet by former Governor Mike Huckabee

32. This inspires a long Slack that reads like an @TitaniaMcGrath parody. “I agree it’s a joke,” concedes a Twitter employee, “but he’s also literally admitting in a tweet a crime.”

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022

More censorship of anyone who dared notice potential problems with mail-in voting

40. Twitter teams went easy on Hice, only applying “soft intervention,” with Roth worrying about a “wah wah censorship” optics backlash: pic.twitter.com/PGuihwNSu6

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022

On the flip side, no left wing conspiracy theory is outlandish enough to induce Twitter to consider applying any moderation standards in the other direction

42. “THAT’S UNDERSTANDABLE”: Even the hashtag #StealOurVotes – referencing a theory that a combo of Amy Coney Barrett and Trump will steal the election – is approved by Twitter brass, because it’s “understandable” and a “reference to… a US Supreme Court decision.” pic.twitter.com/6BjJhjypD2

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022

We will follow up as this story develops…