Leaders.com
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
  • Master Classes
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Executives
    • Marketing and Sales
    • Social Media
    • Innovation
    • Women in Business
  • Leadership
    • Personal Growth
    • Company Culture
    • Public Speaking
    • Productivity
    • Hiring
    • Social Issues
    • Leaders
  • Wealth
    • Investing
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Retirement
    • Venture Capital
    • Loans and Borrowing
    • Taxes
    • Markets
    • Real Estate
  • Master Classes
  • Login
  • Subscribe
Social Media Taibbi

Matt Taibbi and other journalists continue to break The Twitter Files (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)

By Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel is a news writer for Leaders Media. He was the Fall 2021 College Fix Fellow and Health Care...

Full bio


Learn about our editorial policy

Dec 14, 2022

More Twitter Files Revealed

The revelations of “The Twitter Files” continue, with new batches of information released since we last reported. 

Key Details

  • Twitter CEO Elon Musk has been working with independent journalists to reveal documents about internal operations and policies, thus far revealing that Twitter gave politicians tools to request tweets to be taken down, blocked the Hunter Biden laptop story against company policy, and that the company was blocking tweets from conservative accounts like Charlie Kirk, Dan Bongino, and Libsoftiktok. 
  • The first round of The Twitter Files was released by independent journalist Matt Taibbi on December 2, followed by a second round by independent journalist Bari Weiss on December 8. 
  • Taibbi then released the third round on December 9, then Author Michael Shellenberger released part four on December 10, and Weiss released round five on December 12. 
  • The newest rounds show Twitter was actively working with federal authorities on its decision-making.
  • It also reveals how the company internally defended banning the sitting President of the United States and how the decision was used on other politicians, accounts, and hashtags.

Why it’s News 

The Twitter Files have presented evidence that both Republicans and Democrats interacted in ways not in line with Twitter’s professed commitment to freedom of speech. Both parties were permitted to request tweets be taken down that were harmful to their campaigns. The preponderance of the evidence suggests that the political biases of Twitter’s staff weaponized the platform against conservative accounts. 

“It’s important to understand that Twitter’s staff & senior execs were overwhelmingly progressive. In 2018, 2020, and 2022, 96%, 98%, and 99% of Twitter staff’s political donations went to Democrats,” says journalist Shellenberger. 

The internal records of Slack logs and messages show that not only were employees seeking ways to ban prominent political opponents but that they bent the rules and celebrated when they succeeded. 

Breaking it Down 

The majority of the messages appear between January 6 and January 8, 2021, but Taibbi provides documentation that Trust and Safety lead Yoel Roth, Trust and Safety chief Vijaya Gadde, and Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker were meeting with government officials prior to the 2020 election and discussing ways to intensify and suppress political opinions that the website found undesirable, with less scrutiny toward Twitter policies. 

Policy Director Nick Pickles is shown trying to spin Twitter’s relationship with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security as “partnerships” with “experts.” The FBI sent tweets regarding election integrity and voter fraud to Twitter, which would mark them with a “Learn How Voting Is Safe and Secure” label. 

The suppression of “high-profile” accounts only intensified following the Capital Riot on January 6, 2021. 

On January 7, 2021, the website was busy trying to spin a justification to ban President Donald Trump, seeking “a change of policy for Trump alone, distinct from other political leaders” with “no concern for the free speech or democracy implications of a ban,” says Shellenberger. Twitter would ban the President on January 8 for “risk of further incitement of violence” based on “how [Trump’s tweets] are being received & interpreted.”

“For years, Twitter had resisted calls both internal and external to ban Trump on the grounds that blocking a world leader from the platform or removing their controversial tweets would hide important information that people should be able to see and debate,” says Weiss. 

Twitter employees regarded breaking its own policies to ban the President as a “one off.” 

The ban was pressured by a Washington Post story where 300 Twitter employees signed a petition demanding President Trump to be banned. Internally, Twitter struggled to find a way to explain how to defend banning Trump based on his tweets immediately following the riot. “Safety has assessed the Tweet above and determined that there is no violation of our policies at this time,” said one official. 

Twitter generally gives permission for pernicious statements from heads of state, such as when Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel a “malignant cancerous tumor,” even refusing to ban accounts that directly call for violence such as a Malaysian Prime Minister’s called for Muslims to kill French citizens. 

Twitter’s excuse for banning Trump was on the ground that his words were “coded” incitement and that the team came to “view him as the leader of a terrorist group responsible for violence/deaths comparable to Christchurch shooter or Hitler and on that basis and on the totality of his Tweets, he should be de-platformed.”

Twitter employees celebrated on the Slack channel with messages like “OMG,” “!!!!!!,” and “AAAAH!” The employees quickly attempted to weaponize this tactic against “medical misinformation” next.

Home / News / More Twitter Files Revealed
Share
FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Related Stories

Side Hustles—One Answer To a Recession

by Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff
Business

About an hour ago

side hustle

More Americans are working extra jobs, or side hustles, to create additional cash flow while expenses rise.

Key Details

  • A 2022 survey from Insuranks found that 93% of Americans have some sort of side hustle in addition to their full-time or part-time job. 
  • Of those who work side hustles, 80% have a full-time job. Both full-time and part-time workers say they dedicate 13 hours per week to their side hustle. 
  • Though a side hustle cuts into available free time and may add some stress, the majority of respondents planned to continue working the side hustle and say the inconvenience was worth it. 
  • Most people working side hustles are doing so to have extra cash, whether that cash is needed to pay for necessary expenses or for spending money. 
  • However, working a side hustle can have its downsides. Depending on the side hustle, a worker may need additional insurance or pay more taxes. 

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Apple Heads To Hollywood 

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff
Entertainment

5 hours ago

AppleTV+ is shifting its attention from streaming exclusivity to the releasing first-run feature films into the theaters. 

Key Details

  • Apple is planning to spend $1 billion annually to produce theatrically released films, anonymous sources tell Bloomberg. 
  • This marks a change for AppleTV+ plus, which has exclusively released its content on its streaming service, a move that could bring greater brand awareness to the smaller platform. 
  • The company already has several high-profile exclusives set to release this year, including Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of the Flower Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon—which could see these potential Oscar contenders receiving theatrical releases. 
  • AppleTV+ reportedly has between 20 million and 40 million subscribers, making it one of the smaller contenders in the “streaming wars.”  

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

DOE Bets On Risky Energy

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff
Environment

Mar 25, 2023

ARPA-E Fast Pitch - Dr. Jenifer Shafer, Dr. Robert Ledoux, and Dr. Ahmed Diallo

The Department of Energy (DOE) is hosting its annual ARPA-E, or Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, conference with many innovations focusing on carbon reduction.

Key Details

  • ARPA-E funds risky energy projects that have difficulty receiving private sector investment.
  • The agency has given out some $3.3 billion to more than 1,400 projects since 2009, according to Bloomberg writer Ari Natter.
  • ARPA-E projects have led to some $11 billion in private sector funding, the formation of 131 companies, and 934 patents, according to the Energy Department.
  • Recent efforts showcased at the conference focus on decarbonization, including microbes that can absorb elements needed for batteries and carbon-negative cement.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn
An attendee tries Google Glass during the Google I/O developer conference on May 17, 2013 in San Francisco, California.
Business

Mar 25, 2023

Tech Too Good To Be True

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff
Productivity

Mar 24, 2023

Working Nine To Five … Well, It’s Not That Simple

by Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff
OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, CEO Sam Altman, has acknowledged the AI risks and potentially dangerous outcomes of ChatGPT
Business

Mar 24, 2023

Companies Scrambling For A.I. Regulation

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff

Recent Articles

Leadership

Mar 22, 2023

Creating Loyal Employees Is About More Than Just the Paycheck

If you think simply paying your employees more will gain their loyalty, think again.

Business

Mar 20, 2023

Worried About ADHD At Work? Here’s How It Might Actually Help You

Neurodivergent people often have a high level of creativity and innovative thinking.

Productivity

Mar 17, 2023

Unlocking Your Inner Drive: How to Motivate Yourself

Make real progress by trying out these techniques for boosting your self-motivation.

  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
Join the Leaders Community

Get exclusive tools and resources you need to grow as a leader and scale a purpose-driven business.

Subscribing indicates your consent to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Leaders.com
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Careers
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Member Login

© 2023 Leaders.com - All rights reserved.

Search Leaders.com