New 'Twitter Files' Detail Communications, Payments Between FBI and Twitter
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A "Twitter Files" release on Monday appear to show extensive communications and payments between the FBI and Twitter about the platform's approach to disinformation and suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
The Details: Apparent screenshots of communications between the FBI and Twitter show that the FBI paid Twitter $3.4 million for processing the agency's requests about disinformation; that former FBI lawyer-turned-Twitter lawyer Jim Baker repeatedly cast doubt on the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop story to other top Twitter executives; that top Twitter decision-makers were initially unconvinced that the story should be suppressed; and that the FBI conducted an exercise with Twitter in September 2020 about a hypothetical “Burisma Leak” and how to handle it. Burisma is a Ukrainian energy firm on whose board Hunter Biden once sat.
Key Quotes: Michael Shellenberger, the journalist recruited by Twitter CEO Elon Musk to publish the release, said the materials point to an organized effort by "members of the intelligence community (IC), aimed at senior executives at news and social media companies, to discredit leaked information about Hunter Biden before and after it was published."
How the Media Covered It: No left-rated sources and very few center-rated sources have covered the latest Twitter Files release as of Tuesday afternoon. Right-rated outlets have covered it prominently, and many continue to frame it as evidence of a large-scale conspiracy between the FBI, Big Tech, and mainstream media companies to suppress negative information about the Biden family.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
The FBI Paid Twitter $3.4 Million for Processing Requests
The FBI paid Twitter millions of dollars to cover the costs of processing the agency's requests. "I am happy to report we have collected $3,415,323 since October 2019!" wrote someone with Twitter's Safety, Content, & Law Enforcement (SCALE) team in a February 2021 email, according to internal messages reported by journalist Michael Shellenberger today.
"In 2019 SCALE instituted a reimbursement program for our legal process response from the FBI," explained the email, whose author is redacted. "Prior to the start of the program, Twitter chose not to collect under this statutory right...
From the Center
Shellenberger on ‘Twitter Files’: Investigation necessary
A seventh batch of internal Twitter documents was released Monday, further detailing how the FBI and broader intelligence community allegedly sought to shut down a story about Hunter Biden and the contents of his laptop.
The author of the latest “Twitter Files” dump, Michael Shellenberger, argues the contents show that a congressional investigation is needed into the communications the FBI was having with Twitter executives leading up to the 2020 election.
“The FBI is of such importance … so if there is politicization within the FBI aimed at a particular...
From the Right
New 'Twitter Files' detail FBI's relationship with company leadership The latest release of internal Twitter documents released by allies of new owner Elon Musk details the conversations and interactions the FBI and Twitter's leadership had in the lead-up to the 2020 election and the platform's censoring of the New York Post story about Hunter Biden's laptop.
The FBI maintained constant contact with Twitter, to the point of sharing temporary top-secret security clearances, according to the latest release of what Musk allies are calling the "Twitter Files," this time from author Michael Shellenberger. The company also had several ex-FBI members on staff and had open channels...
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