Twitter Files
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| Type | Investigation of internal documents provided by Twitter |
|---|---|
| Reporter | Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss |
The Twitter Files is investigative journalism released on Twitter concerning a set of internal Twitter documents whose contents were first reported in a series of December 2022 tweets by Matt Taibbi.[1][2]
The first installment of the Twitter Files was written by journalist Taibbi on 2 December and discussed excerpts from internal emails amongst Twitter employees who were discussing moderation of content related to the New York Post article dated 14 October 2020 that fomented the Hunter Biden laptop controversy.[3][4][5].
History
The internal Twitter documents were provided to independent journalists Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss,[6] according to Twitter CEO Elon Musk.[7][8]
The first installment, written by journalist Taibbi on 2 December, discussed excerpts from internal emails amongst Twitter employees who were discussing moderation of content related to the New York Post article in 2020 that fomented the Hunter Biden laptop controversy.[3][4] Officials of the Democratic Party[9] and the Republican Party asked Twitter employees to remove tweets they flagged.[5]. Taibbi indicated that he had seen no evidence in the files he had reviewed of government involvement in the laptop story.[10] On 3 December, Elon Musk, who had provided the emails, retweeted the thread by Taibbi concerning Twitter's internal discussion of content moderation concerning the 2020 New York Post story.[11]
Twitter decided[when?] to restrict the sharing of the New York Post story in October 2020 as "hacked materials" and locked accounts that shared it, including those of the newspaper and then White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany. The moves drew widespread criticism from supporters of Donald Trump, who used the controversy to further their claims that tech companies censor their viewpoints.[12]
Content
The Twitter Files are composed of internal documents from Twitter, including emails from senior Twitter staff.[4] Some of these documents reported on described Twitter's internal deliberations regarding the decision to censor the reporting of the New York Post regarding the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop,[1][2] while others contained information on how Twitter treated tweets that were flagged for removal at the request of the 2020 Biden campaign team and the Trump Administration.[5] The tweets in question contained nude photos of Hunter Biden.[13] [14] [15] Business Insider, Salon and CNN have speculated these were removed in compliance with Twitter's own non-consenual nudity policy [14][13][15] and California state law, which makes sharing such imagery illegal.[13]
According to Taibbi, the Twitter Files number in the thousands.[1][7]
Reactions
James A. Baker, deputy general counsel at Twitter, was fired by Elon Musk on December 6, 2022, after his role in the Twitter suppression[clarification needed] of the Hunter Biden laptop story was discovered.[16]
References
- ^ a b c Grynbaum, Michael M. (December 4, 2022). "Elon Musk, Matt Taibbi, and a Very Modern Media Maelstrom". The New York Times.
- ^ a b ""End of story": Elon Musk responds to Trump's "Twitter Files" reaction". Axios (website). December 4, 2022.
- ^ a b Zakrzewski, Cat; Siddiqui, Faiz (December 3, 2022). "Elon Musk's 'Twitter Files' ignite divisions, but haven't changed minds". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b c Gray, Freddy (December 3, 2022). "How Twitter suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story". The Spectator.
- ^ a b c Garrison, Joey; Schulz, Bailey; Guynn, Jessica (December 3, 2022). "Elon Musk's 'Twitter files': Emails reveal internal struggle on handling of Hunter Biden laptop". USA Today.
- ^ The process for producing the “Twitter Files” involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. However, after the initial batch, things became complicated., Matt Taibi, 6 December 2022.
- ^ a b Fischer, Sara (December 6, 2022). "The alternative-media industrial complex". Axios (website).
- ^ Brown, Natalie (December 4, 2022). "Elon Musk says risk of his assassination is 'quite significant'". New Zealand Herald.
- ^ Schreckinger, Ben (December 3, 2022). "'This will be awesome': Musk leaks Twitter's Hunter Biden files". Politico Pro. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ "there’s no evidence - that I've seen - of any government involvement in the laptop story.", Matt Taibi, 2 December 2022.
- ^ Pandey, Nikhil (December 3, 2022). "Elon Musk Retweets "Twitter Files", Reveals Details On "Hunter Biden Story" Censor". NDTV.
- ^ Ingram, David (December 5, 2022). "Elon Musk promotes release of the internal Twitter documents rehashing platform's block of Hunter Biden story". NBC News.
- ^ a b c Tangalakis-Lippert, Katherine (December 3, 2022). "Elon Musk's 'Twitter Files' drop revealed some of the tweets the Biden campaign asked the social app to remove were nude photos of Hunter Biden spread without his consent". Business Insider.
- ^ a b Fung, Brian (December 4, 2022). "Released Twitter emails show how employees debated how to handle 2020 New York Post Hunter Biden story". CNN.
- ^ a b Shah, Areeba (December 5, 2022). "Elon Musk's hyped "Twitter Files" show Biden campaign asked to remove Hunter Biden nude photos". Salon.
- ^ Sebastian Tong. "Musk Says Deputy General Counsel ‘Exited’ From Twitter" Bloomberg News. December 6, 2022.