We’re finally into the FBI stuff.
James Baker, an FBI attorney employed by Twitter, was blocking all of this during Twitter Files #1. He’s now fired and we’re getting the truth.
That Jew Yolo was behind banning Donald Trump. Not surprising at all.
This is a very good news story. The only one available today, actually.
(Yes, there are some problems with the numbering.)
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601352083617505281
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601352946163544065
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601354663265472513
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601357147178082305
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601358396523184129
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601359872528101376
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601360579683549185
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601361391679856640
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601362905785860098
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601364081864495104
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601365295763193856
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601366094584823808
25. The FBI-flagged tweet then got circulated in the enforcement Slack. Twitter cited Politifact to say the first story was “proven to be false,” then noted the second was already deemed “no vio on numerous occasions.” pic.twitter.com/LyyZ1opWAh
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
27. Examining the entire election enforcement Slack, we didn’t see one reference to moderation requests from the Trump campaign, the Trump White House, or Republicans generally. We looked. They may exist: we were told they do. However, they were absent here.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
31. In one case, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee joke-tweets about mailing in ballots for his “deceased parents and grandparents.” pic.twitter.com/ZRpmwJa7K1
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
The group declares Huck’s an “edge case,” and though one notes, “we don’t make exceptions for jokes or satire,” they ultimately decide to leave him be, because “we’ve poked enough bears.”
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
33. Roth suggests moderation even in this absurd case could depend on whether or not the joke results in “confusion.” This seemingly silly case actually foreshadows serious later issues: pic.twitter.com/nOi50BdeaC
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
35. In another example, Twitter employees prepare to slap a “mail-in voting is safe” warning label on a Trump tweet about a postal screwup in Ohio, before realizing “the events took place,” which meant the tweet was “factually accurate”: pic.twitter.com/4r6nJ3JDmY
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
"VERY WELL DONE ON SPEED": the group is pleased the Trump tweet is dealt with quickly pic.twitter.com/WMyQjbWqNW
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
38. After Woods angrily quote-tweeted about Trump’s warning label, Twitter staff – in a preview of what ended up happening after J6 – despaired of a reason for action, but resolved to “hit him hard on future vio.” pic.twitter.com/dusFylxAXS
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
40. Twitter teams went easy on Hice, only applying “soft intervention,” with Roth worrying about a “wah wah censorship” optics backlash: pic.twitter.com/PGuihwNSu6
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
42. “THAT’S UNDERSTANDABLE”: Even the hashtag #StealOurVotes – referencing a theory that a combo of Amy Coney Barrett and Trump will steal the election – is approved by Twitter brass, because it’s “understandable” and a “reference to… a US Supreme Court decision.” pic.twitter.com/6BjJhjypD2
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
44. Later in November 2020, Roth asked if staff had a “debunk moment” on the “SCYTL/Smartmantic vote-counting” stories, which his DHS contacts told him were a combination of “about 47” conspiracy theories: pic.twitter.com/QiYGlZE202
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
46. Some executives wanted to use the new deamplification tool to silently limit Trump’s reach more right away, beginning with the following tweet: pic.twitter.com/U7AJLF2wIt
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
48. The significance is that it shows that Twitter, in 2020 at least, was deploying a vast range of visible and invisible tools to rein in Trump’s engagement, long before J6. The ban will come after other avenues are exhausted
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
50. In this instance, it appears moderators added a bot for a Trump claim made on Breitbart. The bot ends up becoming an automated tool invisibly watching both Trump and, apparently, Breitbart (“will add media ID to bot”). Trump by J6 was quickly covered in bots. pic.twitter.com/UhYQ31qIgn
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
52. To “bounce” an account is to put it in timeout, usually for a 12-hour review/cool-off: pic.twitter.com/rGUIhGF6w8
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
54. PII has multiple meanings, one being “Public Interest Interstitial,” i.e. a covering label applied for “public interest” reasons. The post below also references “proactive V,” i.e. proactive visibility filtering. pic.twitter.com/GSCjAPaBjG
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
This project was preposterous yet its leaders were unable to see this, having become infected with groupthing, coming to believe – sincerely – that it was Twitter's responsibility to control, as much as possible, what people could talk about, how often, and with whom.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
57. This “Freedom or Death” tweet from #StopTheSteal gadfly Mike Coudrey elicits heated reactions: pic.twitter.com/NeBnL4e5YB
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
59. At 2:39 p.m. PST, a comms official asked Roth to confirm or deny a story that they’d restricted Trump’s ability to tweet. Roth says, “We have not.” pic.twitter.com/MeaHgN0FUQ
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
This theme of Policy perhaps being stressed by queries from Communications executives – who themselves have to answer the public’s questions – occasionally appears. Two days later, you see chatter about pulling Comms out of the loop: pic.twitter.com/sPxGcXtOpy
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
62. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” Safe to say Trump’s “Go home with love & in peace” tweet mid-riot didn’t go over well at Twitter HQ: pic.twitter.com/yhi5uv4QXI
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
64. By the end of the first day, the top execs are still trying to apply rules. By the next day, they will contemplate a major change in approach. Watch @shellenbergerMD this weekend for the play-by-play of how all that went down.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
66. Lastly, people on the left, right, and in between want to know what else is in the #TwitterFiles, from suppression/shadow-banning of leftists to lab-leak theorists, or amplification of military propaganda or conservative accounts. We know everyone has questions.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022
67. And while we’ve stumbled on tidbits here and there about topics ranging from COVID to foreign policy, the reality is the data sets are enormous and we’re still working through them.
More is coming. Good night, all.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 10, 2022