GOP lawmakers respond to latest ‘Twitter files’ detailing Trump ban, vow Big Tech ‘will be held accountable’
The third installment of the “Twitter files” released Friday shows the company’s internal communications surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and what led to the decision to ban then-Pres. Donald Trump from the platform.
They also showed how Twitter coordinated with the FBI to censor individuals and how executives run the platform with an iron fist: banning users from engaging tweets they don’t like or that are believed to be false.
“It’s even worse than we thought,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri tweeted Friday evening.
Conservative concerns that they were the victims of blacklists, suspensions and shadow bans were true, the files show – contrary to testimony from company executives.
THE TWITTER FILES PART 3 REVEALS WHAT LEADED TO TRUMP’S REMOVAL FROM THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM
Hawley added, “It’s hard to count the number of lies Twitter executives have told under oath to Congress.”
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, echoed: “We’ve been told that Twitter does not prohibit shadowing. False.’
Jordan, who was recently elected to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee when Republicans overtook the House majority in January, similarly said Twitter tyranny was “worse than we thought.”
A photo illustration of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, on Capitol Hill, April 4, 2022, in Washington, D.C., and Congressman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on July 21, 2021, in Washington, D.C.; with the Twitter logo in San Francisco, California on October 28, 2022.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/CONSTANZA HEVIA/AFP via Getty Images)
“Which is worse,” Jordan asked his 3.4 million followers, “Ex-Twitter executives are lying about the shadow ban [or] Is the media ignoring the story or promoting these lies?”
In January, House Republicans would be given the power to open congressional investigations and host committee hearings.
At that time, “Big Tech will be held accountable for its egregious biases,” said Congressman Pat Fallon, R-Texas.
Earlier on Friday, “part one” of the third installment “Twitter Files” was released via Substack author Matt Taibbi.
The internal documents, dated October 2020 to January 2021, show “the breakdown of standards at the company in the months leading up to J6, decisions by senior executives to violate their own policies and more, amid ongoing, documented interaction with federal agencies.” , Tybee told his followers.
“Whatever your opinion of the decision to remove Trump that day, the internal Twitter communications between January 6th and January 8th have clear historical significance. Even the Twitter staff realized at the time that this was a momentous moment in the annals of the speech,” he added.
Taibbi reported that Twitter executives have “started to process new power” after their decision to ban Trump, indicating they are “ready to ban future presidents and White Houses — maybe even Joe Biden. “The new administration,” says one executive, “will not be suspended from Twitter unless absolutely necessary.”
The communications also show Twitter executives and employees working in coordination with the FBI and other federal agencies.
However, Twitter CEO Elon Musk defended the FBI’s efforts.
“With rare exceptions, the FBI seems to want to do the right thing, but there is no doubt that Twitter has acted as a machine for Democratic Party activists,” Musk tweeted.
The release comes a day after Musk shared “Part Deux” of the “Twitter Files” on Thursday, showing how the company will “build blacklists” of certain users or tweets.
The internal documents were shared with journalist Barry Weiss.
“A new #TwitterFiles investigation reveals that teams of Twitter employees build blacklists, prevent unfavorable tweets from trending, and actively limit the visibility of entire accounts or even trending topics — all in secret without informing users,” Weiss said in a thread .
ELON MUSK’S SECOND PART OF ‘THE TWITTER FILES’ REVEALS ‘SECRET BLACKLISTS,’ BARRY WEISS REPORTS
Weiss then recalled that Twitter executives had previously denied any such actions.
“In 2018, Twitter’s Vijaya Gadde (then head of legal policy and trust) and Kayvon Beykpour (head of product) said, ‘We don’t shadow ban.'” They added, “And we certainly don’t shadow ban based on of political views or ideology,” he reported.
An aerial view shows a sign posted on the outside of Twitter’s headquarters on April 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Gade and Beikpour just had another name for the act, Weiss reported Twitter Executives and officials called the process of reducing a person’s reach on the platform “visibility filtering,” or “VF.”
“Think of visibility filtering as a way for us to suppress what people see on different levels. It’s a very powerful tool,” Weiss reported, citing a “senior Twitter official.”
Musk confirmed in a later tweet that “some accounts on the right have been suspended, even as Twitter has internally acknowledged that no rules were violated.”
ELLEN MUSK REVEALS WHAT LEADED TO 2020 HUNTER BIDEN TWITTER FOOTBALL STORY
The major revelation comes days after an initial batch of internal documents showed a glimpse of the company’s general content moderation protocols.
Musk shared the first “Twitter Files” with Substack journalist Matt Taibbi.
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According to information provided by Musk and shared by Tybee, the continued moderation of Twitter’s content was “a decision made at the highest levels of the company, but without the knowledge of CEO Jack Dorsey, with a former head of legal, policy and trust departments Vijaya Gade plays a key role.”
Musk has promised transparency as he moves forward to lead the company.
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