'Twitter Files' document connection to government agencies via 'belly button'

A new release of internal Twitter correspondence details the relationship between the social media company and government agencies, which one agent compared to a belly button.

The latest drop of the Twitter Files , a series of releases provided by Elon Musk to allies detailing communications of the social media platform's leadership, offers insights into the company's relationship with the FBI . The company established regular communications and received requests from an assortment of agencies, according to emails released by journalist Matt Taibbi. These connections were better formed after the company clashed with the Global Engagement Center, a State Department-funded agency that regularly flagged Russian accounts in 2020 reports.

Twitter executives disputed the GEC's reports, saying they were flawed, and pressed for direct communications with other government agencies. This eventually led to the FBI becoming a "Belly button to the [United States government]" for Twitter, as agent Elvis Chan described the relationship to former Twitter Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth.