Staff Reports
On Tuesday, Matt Taibbi released a new version of the Twitter Files, which he said was focused on sharing information with the intelligence community about Russia. He then released a second edition that he said was about the FBI and Twitter. The name of the second edition was "Belly Button."
The intensity of this batch is due to the COVID cover-up. In previous editions, the virus was covered, but this time, Taibbi revealed how it was flagged as misinformation linked to Russia.
1.THREAD: The Twitter Files
Twitter and the FBI “Belly Button” pic.twitter.com/nfOGQGlvUM— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
In his thread, Taibbi provided details about how the GEC, which he described as an intelligence arm of the US State Department, claimed to the media in 2020 that it was just one more thing that they had to do with Russia. The report he referenced claimed that Russia's disinformation apparatus was taking advantage of the concerns about the coronavirus.
https://t.co/BcFhHCvjAE February, 2020, as COVID broke out, the Global Engagement Center – a fledgling analytic/intelligence arms of the State Department – went to the media with a report called, “Russian Disinformation Apparatus Taking Advantage of Coronavirus Concerns.” pic.twitter.com/KjUeE8vejt
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
Even if accounts made claims about the coronavirus that are now being widely believed, they were still labeled as Russian proxy and personal accounts. Some of these include blaming the Wuhan institute for conducting research related to the coronavirus and labeling it as an engineered bioweapon.
A report released by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee last month mentioned the possibility of a link between the Wuhan institute and Russia.
It has been a widely believed possibility for a long time now. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas tried to address it, but he was called a pariah by the New York Times in February 2020. The newspaper labeled his warnings as fringe theories.
It's now confirmed that the mainstream media was not the only ones who tried to downplay the likelihoods and possibilities of a link between the Wuhan institute and Russia.
5.State also flagged accounts that retweeted news that Twitter banned the popular U.S. ZeroHedge, claiming the episode “led to another flurry of disinformation narratives.” ZH had done reports speculating that the virus had lab origin. pic.twitter.com/JlIobPzAFE
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
The GEC also highlighted various articles from Shaun Tandon and Arthur Macmillan, such as the one published by AFP on February 22, 2020. Another article was written by Betsy Swan for POLITICO on April 21, 2020. The State Department claimed that Chinese, Iranian, and Russian disinformation campaigns were similar.
7.“YOU HAVEN’T MADE A RUSSIA ATTRIBUTION IN SOME TIME” When Clemson’s Media Forensics Hub complained Twitter hadn’t “made a Russia attribution” in some time, Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth said it was “revelatory of their motives.” pic.twitter.com/zByT5aCaBo
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
Individuals who have been following the Twitter Files will recognize Yoel Roth, who used to work for the Trust and Safety Department. According to researchers from the University of Georgia, Twitter had not acknowledged a link between Russia and the Wuhan institute.
Roth reportedly asked researchers to avoid going to the media about foreign interference before they could discuss the issue with the media. Twitter also wanted to limit the number of agencies that had access to him.
Due to a disagreement between state officials and Twitter, the GEC decided to expand its role in moderating content. According to Roth, this led to the development of partnerships with other agencies such as the FBI and DHS.
Although the GEC agreed to let Twitter know when the researchers would be talking to the media, an executive noted that the issue still remained problematic.
The disagreements between various platforms, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, over the GEC's inclusion in the framework grew.
The issue became more political, as Roth noted that an election would eventually occur. This could include the 2020 presidential race, which Donald Trump lost.
As noted by Taibbi, Twitter was also used to "roll over for the Democratic Party" when it came to blocking accounts that were allegedly linked to Russia.
In an email sent on June 9, 2020, Roth noted that introducing the GEC into the group could pose a threat to the security of the upcoming election. He also noted that it could undermine the efforts of the existing stable of experts and practitioners.
19.When senior lawyer Stacia Cardille tried to argue against the GEC’s inclusion to the FBI, the words resonated “with Elvis, not Laura,” i.e. with agent Elvis Chan, not Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) unit chief Laura Dehmlow: pic.twitter.com/zOfVr8VlRx
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
The "belly button" was mentioned at the end of the thread. Various tweets then revealed the details of the discussions about the GEC's possible involvement with other agencies, such as the CIA and FBI.
Roth was then notified by Agent Chan about a list of Signal numbers. As a result, Twitter received more requests from various agencies.
In the thread, a prominent politician criticized the Twitter Files and Elon Musk, the company's current CEO. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who is also a member of the House Intelligence Committee, asked Twitter to ban Paul Sperry of the New York Post. Although the company initially declined, it eventually agreed to follow his request.
The name "Schiff" became a trending topic on Twitter on Tuesday and Wednesday. More details about the requests were revealed in subsequent tweets.
The last couple of tweets talked about how this issue escalated to the presidential election of 2020. It also revealed how difficult it was for Twitter to keep up with the requests.
In the past, Michael Shellenberger noted that Twitter was an "overworked subcontractor." He also noted that the company was underpaid for the work it did for the government. This is the topic of a pinned tweet by Taibbi.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Townhall.
