12/2/2022
Elon Musk announced that he would live tweet the release of documents relating to the Hunter Biden laptop story, which he says Twitter suppressed. When the time came, he retweeted a “Twitter Files” thread by journalist and podcaster Matt Taibbi that contained new claims and documents about Twitter and the Biden story.
Here is what we know:
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.
Slowly, over time, Twitter staff and executives began to find more and more uses for these tools. Outsiders began petitioning the company to manipulate speech as well: first a little, then more often, then constantly.
By 2020, requests from connected actors to delete tweets were routine. One executive would write to another: “More to review from the Biden team.” The reply would come back: “Handled.”
Celebrities and unknowns alike could be removed or reviewed at the behest of a political party:
Former VP of Global Comms Brandon Borrman asks, “Can we truthfully claim that this is part of the policy?”
White House spokeswoman Kaleigh McEnany was locked out of her account for tweeting about the story, prompting a furious letter from Trump campaign staffer Mike Hahn, who seethed: “At least pretend to care for the next 20 days.”
This led public policy executive Caroline Strom to send out a polite WTF query. Several employees noted that there was tension between the comms/policy teams, who had little/less control over moderation, and the safety/trust teams.
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