The latest batch of the Twitter files reveal some real bombshells: the FBI gave the company nearly $3.5 million in taxpayers’ cash to reimburse the company for handling mass “processing requests” – the taking down of accounts. This, in other words, amounted to banning certain conservative accounts and blocking “possible violative content” in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election and beyond. One leaked email shows a Twitter employee even gleefully wrote “I am happy to report we have collected $3,415,323 since October 2019!”
According to US journalist Matt Taibbi, who was briefed by Musk himself, “Between January 2020 and November 2022, there were over 150 emails between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth”, with the express purpose of blocking accounts sharing alleged “disinformation“. Sometimes this even included accounts sharing obvious jokes…
The most damning consequence of all this is, of course, the censorship of the New York Post’s Hunter Biden story. Twitter blocked the exposé on the grounds that it was “Russian disinformation“, just a day after their top lawyer Jim Baker had a secret meeting with the FBI. By chance, Baker himself happens to be an FBI alumnus. He personally told Yoel Roth to censor the story – a story which, it now goes without saying, wasn’t churned out by the Kremlin at all…
Looks like he’s heeding the Twitter poll, CNBC is reporting that Musk is actively searching for a new Twitter CEO. Which will be a relief to Tesla shareholders…
Elon Musk’s future at Twitter hangs in the balance after a bizarre poll last night resulted the platform’s users calling on him to quit as CEO. While partying at the World Cup final, Musk put out a poll asking “Should I step down as head of Twitter?”, promising to “abide by the results“. It closed minutes ago, and the result hasn’t gone his way…
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
10,063,874 users – 57.5% – told him to go. Will he really abide by the result?
Elon Musk’s decision to ban a dozen critical journalists last night – despite buying the platform for a hefty $44 billion to promote what he himself called “free speech absolutism” – is already causing him major headaches and an inevitable slew of bad headlines. The accounts belonging to prominent left wing US journalists, including from CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post, mysteriously disappeared yesterday – all after posting negative Tweets relating to Musk’s banning of “@ElonJet“, which used public data to tweet the flight plan of his private plane.
Among them was Alan Ruper, who had nearly 800,000 followers. He criticised Musk for suspending the Jet account, and then yesterday discovered his own account had been suspended…
“I never posted anything Elon Jet related or that could violate the policy about disclosing locations. Unless the policy is that you criticize Elon and you get banned…”
The same thing happened to Mastodon, a new Twitter platform rival, which also saw its account locked. Musk briefly appeared on a Twitter Spaces call with journalists to explain himself, claiming the jet tracker violated his safety – although he left a few minutes into questioning…
“There is not going to be any distinction in the future between journalists and regular people, everyone is going to be treated the same […] You’re not special because you’re a journalist, you’re just a citizen. So no special treatment: You dox, you get suspended, end of story.”
He’s since shared a poll asking when those banned should be reinstated. “Now” is currently ahead at 59.6%.
Guido has supported Musk’s takeover of Twitter. The arbitrary censorship of certain stories and ideas under the previous ownership – not least the Hunter Biden laptop debacle – stifled the platform and undermined free discussion. For a free speech crusader, Musk suspending a bunch of journalists like this is hypocritical to say the least…
Matt Hancock was so busy being humiliated on I’m A Celebrity last night, the Westminster bubble managed to miss the resignation of Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.
Or, not quite.
A prankster emailed a number of news agencies and managed to get one with over 270,000 followers to tweet that he’d resigned for ‘personal reasons’. Heaton-Harris spotted this fake news early, and clarified via his own account that it was “tosh”
Hello Twitter!
— Chris Heaton-Harris MP (@chhcalling) November 9, 2022
Someone has sent a fake e-mail to press outlets saying I’ve resigned.
This is totally untrue. I hope one of @elonmusk first moves is to eliminate fake news on Twitter…
Very exciting I know, but complete and utter tosh.
Chris’s tagging of Elon managed to get the Twit in Chief to reply, asking for clarity on “What does a tosh look like?”
What does a tosh look like?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2022
Guido presumes HH’s team are busy workshopping a funny yet serious reply while they’ve got Elon’s attention.
Unfortunately for observers, Musk declined to commit to Heaton-Harris’s request for him to sort out fake news on the social media app. He’s far too busy experimenting with Twitter’s verification system for that…
Elon Musk has owned Twitter for a matter of days, and already he’s causing meltdowns. Today he confirmed the site will revamp its ‘blue tick’ verification process – the badges of honour awarded to ‘notable’ authentic accounts – amid reports the site may charge up to £17 per month for the scheme. Even though the precise details haven’t yet been confirmed, it’s inevitably led to an amusing backlash from the ego-obsessed Twitterati…
Priyamvada Gopal, the hard-left academic who was uninvited from giving a Home Office lecture over her “racist views“, is somehow claiming her blue tick was “a matter of physical safety” and it is “actually not funny”:
The blue tick protected many of us from lethal impersonation and fake news. It was a matter of physical safety for me. This is actually not funny.
— Priyamvada Gopal (@PriyamvadaGopal) October 31, 2022
Meanwhile Chris Bryant – a man who has tweeted over 82,000 times – is busy shouting into the wind saying he’s “not sure” if he has a blue tick, never asked for one, doesn’t care if he has one or not, and personally warned Musk he “certainly” won’t pay for one. Sure.
Dear Mr Musk, I never sought a blue tick, I’m not sure whether I have one and I don’t care if you remove it (if I have it). I’m certainly not paying for your validation.
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) October 31, 2022
Expect to see more of this sort of thing in the coming weeks. Guido looks forward to the first MP claiming their blue badge on expenses. It’s bound to happen soon…
