The latest Twitter Files release shows that the Biden administration pressed the social media platform to suppress alleged COVID “disinformation” while promoting the White House’s preferred messaging.
The Monday updates came in the form of a series of tweets from Free Press reporter David Zweig.
The federal government reportedly “rigged” the COVID debate, “By censoring info that was true but inconvenient to U.S. govt. policy,” as well as “discrediting doctors and other experts who disagreed,” and “ordinary users,” according to Zweig.
1. THREAD:
THE TWITTER FILES: HOW TWITTER RIGGED THE COVID DEBATE
– By censoring info that was true but inconvenient to U.S. govt. policy
– By discrediting doctors and other experts who disagreed
– By suppressing ordinary users, including some sharing the CDC’s *own data*— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
The pressure to suppress certain COVID details while elevating a preferred narrative included officials in both the Trump and Biden administrations.
“Internal files at Twitter that I viewed while on assignment for @thefp showed that both the Trump and Biden administrations directly pressed Twitter executives to moderate the platform’s pandemic content according to their wishes,” Zweig tweeted.
5. Internal files at Twitter that I viewed while on assignment for @thefp showed that both the Trump and Biden administrations directly pressed Twitter executives to moderate the platform’s pandemic content according to their wishes.
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
Zweig later offered evidence that the push toward select COVID information was not limited to Twitter.
“It wasn’t just Twitter. The meetings with the Trump White House were also attended by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others,” he tweeted alongside a screenshot of the companies involved.
7. It wasn’t just Twitter. The meetings with the Trump White House were also attended by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others. pic.twitter.com/OgOrRxBBBW
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
The Twitter Files also cited examples of suppression by bots — automated intelligence that flagged certain content — while also outsourcing moderation to workers in faraway locations like the Philippines.
The contracted workers “in places like the Philippines, also moderated content. They were given decision trees to aid in the process, but tasking non experts to adjudicate tweets on complex topics like myocarditis and mask efficacy data was destined for a significant error rate,” Zweig documented.
16. Second, contractors, in places like the Philippines, also moderated content. They were given decision trees to aid in the process, but tasking non experts to adjudicate tweets on complex topics like myocarditis and mask efficacy data was destined for a significant error rate pic.twitter.com/lTISX00mo7
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
In some cases, content was suppressed even when users cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) own data. In the example cited by Zweig, a bot initially flagged the tweet, with the post receiving many “tattles,” referring to reports by other users.
The data was accurate and specifically referred to CDC information, yet was flagged as misleading.
“Tellingly, the tweet by @KelleyKga that was labeled ‘Misleading’ was a reply to a tweet that contained actual misinformation,” Zweig wrote.
27. Tellingly, the tweet by @KelleyKga that was labeled “Misleading” was a reply to a tweet that contained actual misinformation.
Covid has never been the leading cause of death from disease in children. Yet that tweet remains on the platform, and without a “misleading” label. pic.twitter.com/vK5NpWg8KT
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
In summary, Zweig uncovered “countless instances of tweets labeled as ‘misleading’ or taken down entirely, sometimes triggering account suspensions, simply because they veered from CDC guidance or differed from establishment views,” he wrote.
The Free Press journalist’s investigative account follows the previous Twitter Files update from journalist Matt Taibbi who reported Saturday that the social media company received intelligence reports from U.S. agencies raising concerns about foreign influence by flagging users and posts focused on Ukraine “propaganda,” COVID vaccines, and more.
Journalist Matt Taibbi shared the excerpts in a thread responding to the FBI defending as “traditional” and “longstanding” its correspondence with Twitter in the face of concerns that the bureau was going out of its way to pressure social media companies to censor content.
“Many people wonder if Internet platforms receive direction from intelligence agencies about moderation of foreign policy news stories. It appears Twitter did, in some cases by way of the” FBI and its Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), Taibbi said. “These reports are far more factually controversial than domestic counterparts,” he added.