Twitter files #6: Twitter was a subsidiary of the FBI – Flopping Aces

This is abominable.

The FBI used Twitter as its own subsidiary to control the narrative in the 2020 election. Matt Taibbi:

Between January 2020 and November 2022, there were over 150 emails between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth.

The FBI was searching for those who questioned election results – even jokes.

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. 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.

There’s much here for conspiracy theorists vis-a-vis the 2020 election

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.