Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced a ban of the Chinese-owned app TikTok from the state&#8217;s government devices Tuesday.
The TikTok ban was included in an emergency cybersecurity directive aimed at multiple Chinese and Russian apps and products.
“There may be no greater threat to our personal safety and our national security than the cyber vulnerabilities that support our daily lives,” Hogan <a class="Link" href="https://governor.maryland.gov/2022/12/06/governor-hogan-announces-emergency-directive-to-prohibit-use-of-tiktok-china-and-russia-based-products-and-platforms-in-state-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. “To further protect our systems, we are issuing this emergency directive against foreign actors and organizations that seek to weaken and divide us.”
“This action represents a critical step in protecting Maryland State systems from the cybersecurity threats caused by foreign organizations,” Maryland&#8217;s Chief Information Security Officer Chip Stewart added.
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The new ban comes after FBI Director Christopher Wray recently warned about the national security concerns surrounding TikTok.
&#8220;The Chinese government has shown a willingness to steal Americans’ data on a scale that dwarfs any other,&#8221; Wray <a href="https://time.com/6238540/tiktok-fbi-security-concerns/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Friday at the University of Michigan.
Maryland&#8217;s ban adds to a growing number of states that are moving to ban the social media platform.
On Monday, Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-clear-and-present-danger-to-its-users-south-carolina-gov-bans-state-employees-from-using-tiktok-amid-national-security-concerns">issued</a> an executive order banning TikTok from government devices.
“Protecting our State’s critical cyber infrastructure from foreign and domestic threats is key to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens and businesses,” McMaster wrote in the <a href="https://governor.sc.gov/news/2022-12/gov-henry-mcmaster-blocks-tiktok-state-government-devices">letter</a> to the state’s Department of Administration Executive Director Marcia Adams.
Last month, Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem became the first governor to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/south-dakota-governor-noem-blocks-state-employees-from-downloading-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban</a> TikTok from state devices, including making it a criminal offense to download the app on a state device.
“South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us,” Noem said in a <a href="https://news.sd.gov/newsitem.aspx?id=31872" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and other Wisconsin lawmakers sent a letter to Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers calling for <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ron-johnson-wisconsin-tony-evers-ban-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">similar action</a> in their state, asking him to &#8220;ban TikTok from Wisconsin government devices and to lead by example and delete TikTok from your own devices.&#8221;
In Arkansas, state Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R) filed a bill on Monday that would enact a similar TikTok ban on state devices.
At the national level, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) introduced legislation last month to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-lawmakers-to-introduce-legislation-banning-tiktok-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban the app</a> in the U.S. outright.
“TikTok is a major threat to U.S. national security. Yet Biden is encouraging greater engagement with the platform by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/27/tiktok-democrats-influencers-biden/?itid=lk_inline_manual_26" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directly courting</a> TikTok influencers,” they wrote in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post.
TikTok has faced scrutiny about the security risks it poses, both to individual data privacy and to national security. The concerns reach back to the Trump administration when then-President Donald Trump pushed to ban the app from the U.S.

TIkTok

Another Governor Bans TikTok From State Devices

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Bans TikTok From State Devices

Big Tech

Larry Hogan

Maryland

TikTok

U.S.

Twitter CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> called out Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales on Tuesday after leftist editors on the site were pushing to have a page removed on last week&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-releases-hunter-biden-files-tweets-deleted-at-behest-of-team-biden-exec-was-key-behind-censorship-decision">release</a> of &#8220;The Twitter Files.&#8221;
Musk released internal company communications through journalist Matt Taibbi on Friday about the company’s censorship of the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 presidential election and about how the platform removed content at the behest of the Democratic Party.
The story appeared on Wikipedia under the page name &#8220;Twitter Files Investigation&#8221; and <a href="https://archive.ph/ytFYA">featured</a> the following short explanation of what has so far been released:
<blockquote>Twitter Files is a Substack article by Matt Taibbi published in December 2022. It presented internal emails amongst Twitter employees who were discussing moderation of content related to the New York Post article that fomented the Hunter Biden laptop controversy. Officials of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party asked Twitter employees to remove tweets they flagged.</blockquote>
Writer Ian Miles Cheong flagged the conversations that Wikipedia&#8217;s editors were having about the page for Musk to see on Twitter.
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&#8220;Wikipedia is voting on the deletion of the entry for Elon Musk’s Twitter Files because the editors have deemed it a &#8216;nothing burger&#8217; that is &#8216;not notable&#8217; because the media didn’t give it enough coverage,&#8221; Cheong tweeted. &#8220;These people work hand in hand with the MSM to shape the narrative.&#8221;
Cheong included in his tweet screenshots from editors at Wikipedia that wanted the page removed.
Some of the comments from editors included:
<ul>
<li>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know where to start explaining why this should be deleted. It&#8217;s a disaster. Maybe we can have a Twitter Files article, but not this one.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Delete: This was generally ignored by the media (with good reason) and thus failed to establish notability.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Delete: I would suggest a merge, but there&#8217;s not really anything here. Even as a stub it suffers from being unsourced in some places and poorly sourced in others, suggesting a lack of notability. It also doesn&#8217;t have a clearly defined topic. Is this about an investigation, or is this about a Substack article? While the title suggests the former and the lede suggests the latter, the content of the article is actually about neither. There is no investigation, and the article lacks any notable information about what the self-published article had to offer. The original revision was much larger than the current one because once you trim out the poorly written editorialized sensationalism there&#8217;s not really anything left.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Delete: This is a three-sentence description of a self-published internet page. Not Notable.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Delete: &#8212; under the scope of the laptop article.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Delete: &#8211; this self-published blogpost (with a grandiose title) lacks significant coverage in reliable sources. If relevant, discourse relating to the blogpost could be covered under the laptop page. I don&#8217;t think a merge is necessary.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
Musk responded, &#8220;Most of Earth: &#8216;The MSM is biased.&#8217; Wikipedia: &#8216;Cite MSM source to confirm this claim.&#8217; 🤣🤣 Wikipedia has a non-trivial left-wing bias. @jimmy_wales, what are your thoughts?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Most of Earth: “The MSM is biased.” Wikipedia: “Cite MSM source to confirm this claim.” 🤣🤣
Wikipedia has a non-trivial left-wing bias.<a href="https://twitter.com/jimmy_wales?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jimmy_wales</a>, what are your thoughts?
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1600200000763756544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-releases-hunter-biden-files-tweets-deleted-at-behest-of-team-biden-exec-was-key-behind-censorship-decision">Musk Releases ‘Hunter Biden’ Files: Tweets Deleted At Behest Of Team Biden, Exec Was Key Behind Censorship Decision</a>

The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” – Arrivals

Elon Musk Calls Out Wikipedia Founder After Leftist Editors Plot To Remove Page On ‘The Twitter Files’

Elon Musk Calls Out Wikipedia Founder After Leftist Editors Plot To Remove Page On 'The Twitter Files'

Elon Musk

Wikipedia

Twitter CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> slammed Democratic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a> Mayor London Breed on Tuesday after the city announced that it was investigating reports that Musk had turned some of the offices at the company&#8217;s headquarters into bedrooms to accommodate his plans for an &#8220;extremely hardcore&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> workforce.
&#8220;San Francisco building inspectors are launching an investigation into reports Twitter has converted several office rooms at its headquarters into sleeping quarters for employees,&#8221; tweeted KQED Supervising Senior Editor Ted Goldberg. &#8220;&#8216;We need to make sure the building is being used as intended&#8217; [SF Department of Building Inspection] rep tells @KQEDnews.&#8221;
Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1600272617759731712" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a>, &#8220;So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. Where are your priorities @LondonBreed!?&#8221;
Musk&#8217;s response to Breed included a link to a news <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-authorities-investigating-whether-a-17621718.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> from the San Francisco Chronicle about a 10-month-old baby who reportedly overdosed on fentanyl after being exposed to the drug at a public playground.
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The city launched an investigation after Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2022/12/05/elon-musk-twitter-bedrooms/?sh=5a1329f2d791" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that employees at the tech giant had &#8220;modest bedrooms featuring unmade mattresses, drab curtains and giant conference-room telepresence monitors.&#8221;
Another room had a plant, the article said, while another room had bright orange carpet &#8220;a wooden bedside table and what appears to be a queen bed, replete with a table lamp and two office armchairs just begging for convivial workplace collaboration.&#8221;
The slightly modified rooms were an upgrade from a photo that gained attention in November that showed one employee sleeping in a sleeping bag behind an office table.
&#8220;When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork,&#8221; said employee Esther Crawford. &#8220;Since some people are losing their minds I&#8217;ll explain: doing hard things requires sacrifice (time, energy, etc). I have teammates around the world who are putting in the effort to bring something new to life so it&#8217;s important to me to show up for them &amp; keep the team unblocked.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SleepWhereYouWork?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SleepWhereYouWork</a> <a href="https://t.co/UBGKYPilbD">https://t.co/UBGKYPilbD</a>
&mdash; Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) <a href="https://twitter.com/esthercrawford/status/1587709705488830464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I work with amazingly talented &amp; ambitious people here at Twitter and this is not a normal moment in time. We are less than 1wk into a massive business &amp; cultural transition. People are giving it their all across all functions: product, design, eng, legal, finance, marketing, etc,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;I love my family and I’m grateful they understand that there are times where I need to go into overdrive to grind and push in order to deliver. Building new things at Twitter&#8217;s scale is very hard to do. I&#8217;m lucky to be doing this work alongside some of the best people in tech.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-launches-investigation-into-elon-musks-company-neuralink-report">Biden Admin Launches Investigation Into Elon Musk’s Company Neuralink: Report</a>

Elon Musk London Breed

Elon Musk Hammers San Francisco Democrat Mayor London Breed Over New Investigation Into Twitter Offices

London Breed

San Francisco

While serving as Arizona’s secretary of state, governor-elect Katie Hobbs played a role in the censorship of social media speech.
According to documents <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63290154/71/8/missouri-v-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">submitted</a> as part of discovery in the case Missouri v. Biden, Hobbs’ office reached out to the Center for Internet Security (CIS), a nonprofit that acts as a mediator between government entities and social media companies, to request a “review” of Twitter posts claiming that Arizona’s voter registration system was owned and operated by foreign actors.
“This is an attempt to further undermine confidence in the election institution in Arizona,” stated Hobbs’ office.
Within 30 minutes, Twitter told CIS that it would “escalate” their issue with the posts. About seven hours later, Twitter notified CIS that it deleted the offending posts. The entire exchange took place on January 7 last year — the day after the Capitol riots.
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“Both Tweets have been removed from service,” stated Twitter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Email leaks reveal Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs was in regular communication with Twitter telling them who to censor <a href="https://t.co/j7OsWpxoso">pic.twitter.com/j7OsWpxoso</a>
— George (@BehizyTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/1599265367821406208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
In the months following this exchange, revealed in court filings, Hobbs focused on publicizing her view of the danger that misinformation and disinformation pose.
“Lies, conspiracy theories, and disinformation pose a real threat to our democracy,” tweeted Hobbs last April.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Lies, conspiracy theories, and disinformation pose a real threat to our democracy.
Until the legislature is willing to commit to funding robust public education efforts around our elections, open and transparent partnerships like this will continue to be vital. <a href="https://t.co/GBs33qlGQW">https://t.co/GBs33qlGQW</a>
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryHobbs/status/1379870753282093056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
Hobbs also alluded to her work in eradicating speech deemed misinformation or disinformation while on the campaign trail last September.
“I’ve fought against misinformation and even death threats to defend Arizona’s elections,” wrote Hobbs. “I’ll always fight the spread of misinformation and never back down from telling the truth. We can’t let the conspiracy theories win.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
While some elected officials in our state continue to promote falsehoods about the last election, I’ll always fight the spread of misinformation and never back down from telling the truth.
We can’t let the conspiracy theorists win. We need a change in leadership in Arizona.
— Gov-Elect Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/katiehobbs/status/1436042901587300352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I’ve fought against misinformation and even death threats to defend Arizona&#8217;s elections.
Now I’m running for Governor, and one of my opponents is talking to Steve Bannon about decertifying the 2020 results.
RT to help us fight back &amp; defend democracy.<a href="https://t.co/ThOUr6W3BI">https://t.co/ThOUr6W3BI</a>
— Gov-Elect Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/katiehobbs/status/1437482967375306753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2021</a></blockquote>
After the discovery of Hobbs’ intervention in social media speech went <a href="https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/1599265367821406208">viral</a> over the weekend, Hobbs’ team engaged with mainstream media outlets to counter the controversy.
Allie Bones, Hobbs’ assistant secretary of state and incoming chief of staff, <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2022/12/05/kari-lake-screamfest-continues-arizona-election-certified/69702814007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> a statement with various outlets asserting that it was the secretary of state’s job to not only inform voters, but to get rid of what they deem to not be the truth. Bones dismissed concerns about the government’s control over online speech, insisting that the CIS arrangement was the norm.
“One of the ways we [make sure that voters are informed] is by working to counter disinformation online that can confuse voters,” stated Bones.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Secretary of State <a href="https://twitter.com/katiehobbs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katiehobbs</a> directs Arizonans to monitor election-related speech and suppress conspiracies. Fascinating timing given the recent discovery that Hobbs&#8217; office effectively controlled election-related speech online. <a href="https://t.co/W7nskWV63s">pic.twitter.com/W7nskWV63s</a>
— Corinne Murdock (@CorinneMurdock) <a href="https://twitter.com/CorinneMurdock/status/1599928121653792768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
Bones derided GOP leaders who called for an investigation into Hobbs, claiming that they were taking the speech monitoring arrangement out of context.
“This email exchange is from January 2021, as shown in the screenshot. Not only was it taken entirely out of context, it has nothing to do with this year’s midterm election,” stated Bones. “This is yet another example of conspiracy theorists trying to create chaos and confusion by casting doubt on our election system. It’s unfair to Arizona voters and it’s harmful to our democracy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Republican Party of Arizona calls on <a href="https://twitter.com/GeneralBrnovich?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GeneralBrnovich</a> to immediately investigate <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryHobbs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretaryHobbs</a> over a government agency directing a private company to suppress free speech.
+ a few other violations of State Law.
Read Full Letter⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/gwgYnu0nrt">pic.twitter.com/gwgYnu0nrt</a>
— Republican Party of Arizona (@AZGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AZGOP/status/1600147382418624512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
Bones <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/12/06/secretary-of-state-had-disinformation-pulled-from-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Axios that “seeking the removal of verifiably false information is not silencing dissent.”
CIS operates as a middle man of sorts for government agencies or officials and social media companies.
Its Election Infrastructure Information Sharing &amp; Analysis Center (EI-ISAC) <a href="https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/white-papers/the-2020-elections-year-in-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">operated</a> a “Situation Awareness Room” to coordinate government and private companies concerning information dissemination and other “election threats” in the 2020 election. CIS noted in a 2020 report that it leveraged relationships with election officials and its past work in “correcting election misinformation” to create the communications hub.
“This groundbreaking single point of coordination for federal, state, local, and private partners allowed all relevant stakeholders to quickly review incoming information, establish ground truths, and respond accordingly to threats. [&#8230;] The EI-ISAC served as the central hub for election officials to report misinformation about the elections infrastructure during the 2020 General Election. CIS leveraged the EI-ISAC to coordinate the communication of misinformation reports from election officials to federal partners, and social media platforms during the 2020 General Election. CIS staff worked with private and public partners to handle 209 cases of misinformation with a range of topics, sources, and social media platforms. The mis/disinformation program also provided the opportunity for election officials to correct the record on misinformation, or to cause the misinformation to be removed.” (emphasis added).
Further on in its report, CIS explained that it issued over 40 threat intelligence alerts and reports originating from them and the federal government to state and local election officials. In response, election officials would issue feedback to CIS. Then, CIS would pass on that information to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) — part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“These disseminations addressed the range of phishing, exploitation, and misinformation threats faced by the election community in 2020, including the threat indicators needed to mitigate them,” stated CIS.
CIS noted that they established a permanent infrastructure to bridge communications between government and social media companies.
“The success of these efforts in the 2020 election established the foundation for expanded efforts on mis/disinformation reporting for future elections,” stated CIS.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
CIS was uniquely positioned to handle both <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cybersecurity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cybersecurity</a> and misinformation reports to protect the 2020 election infrastructure. View the 2020 Elections Year in Review now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/electionsecurity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#electionsecurity</a> <a href="https://t.co/vx5cKQ5ulT">https://t.co/vx5cKQ5ulT</a>
— Center for Internet Security (CIS) (@CISecurity) <a href="https://twitter.com/CISecurity/status/1391758936831930372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
Contacts and funding to execute EI-ISAC’s mission are the least of CIS’ worries. At the helm of the nonprofit is a former top official for the Obama administration: John Gilligan. The president and CEO served as a senior intelligence and security advisor for the Air Force, Department of Energy, and White House Cyber Security Commission.
CIS works with all 50 states in over 2,900 election offices nationwide.
Since 2010, CIS has <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/search/?hash=1e8645a7ce88a2ba9225863308249f9b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> over $196 million in federal grants. They also have received nearly $3.7 million in federal agency cybersecurity contracts since 2005.

Katie Hobbs

Arizona Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs Helped Censor Social Media Speech While Secretary Of State

Arizona

Censorship

Social Media

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> CEO <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> expressed his gratitude for companies that resumed advertisements on the platform despite a pressure campaign from leftist activist groups.
Several organizations endorsed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extremely-messed-up-elon-musk-blasts-activist-groups-for-pushing-advertisers-to-ditch-twitter-destroy-free-speech-in-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the executives of major Twitter advertisers claiming that “extremists” see Musk’s takeover of the social media platform as “a new opportunity to post the most abusive, harassing, and racist language and imagery,” including “clear threats of violence against people with whom they disagree.” As many as 50 of the largest 100 advertisers “either announced or seemingly stopped” their ads, according to a subsequent <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/elon-musk/less-month-elon-musk-has-driven-away-half-twitters-top-100-advertisers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from left-wing Media Matters, one of the groups that endorsed the letter.
Some of the companies, however, are now returning to the platform. Musk said during a public Twitter Spaces meeting that Apple has “fully resumed” advertising. Amazon, which had paused some ads, will now <a href="https://twitter.com/ZoeSchiffer/status/1599222526689046528?s=20&amp;t=DMOPlV140IKzdAxFYdcj9w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> overall advertisement spending to $100 million per year, according to Zoe Schiffer, the managing editor of technology outlet Platformer.
“Just a note to thank advertisers for returning to Twitter,” Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1599205091294052352" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Saturday.
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<div class="c-message_attachment__body">Advertisers in the United States that book more than $500,000 in incremental campaigns are now eligible to have their spending matched with a “100% value add” up to a $1 million cap, the largest incentive in the history of Twitter, according to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-offers-advertisers-incentives-after-many-marketers-left-platform-wsj-2022-12-01/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Reuters. Advertisement sales presently account for 90% of revenue, although Musk is attempting to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-introduces-new-idea-to-twitter-and-kills-it-hours-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pivot</a> toward a subscription-driven revenue model.</div>
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Musk also <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1588538640401018880" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that his newest company suffered due to some advertisers’ actions. “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists,” he claimed last month. “Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”
Other leftist-aligned organizations which signed the letter include the NAACP, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The groups encouraged companies to “cease all advertising” if Musk backed down from content moderation.
The world’s richest man, who told the public that he acquired Twitter to promote free expression, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585619322239561728" target="_blank" rel="noopener">informed</a> advertisers that he desires to foster “a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.” He vowed, however, that the social media platform would not become a “free-for-all hellscape” where users could breach the law with impunity. Musk recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-suspends-kanye-ye-west-from-twitter-issues-1-word-statement-after-his-decision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspended</a> Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after the rapper praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during an interview with Alex Jones.
A series of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-reveals-how-twitters-business-is-doing-under-his-leadership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slides</a> provided by Musk to investors and the public indicated that the daily inflow of new users at Twitter had reached two million, while “user active minutes per day” likewise reached eight billion. The company now has more than 250 million monetizable daily active users, Musk said. All three statistics surpass previous company records.
Musk has <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1593385611632594944" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commented</a> that media coverage of the Twitter acquisition and his subsequent attempts to reform the company, including negative reports from legacy media outlets, has contributed to engagement reaching new heights. The entrepreneur said his current number-one priority is the <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1595671290421170179" target="_blank" rel="noopener">removal</a> of child exploitation content, which previous management failed to accomplish. Several advertisers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-companies-remove-advertisements-from-twitter-over-child-pornography-allegations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paused campaigns</a> on the platform two months ago after a report showed that such material appeared alongside major profiles.

Tesla Gigafactory – Elon Musk

Musk Thanks Companies For Resuming Ads On Twitter Despite Leftist Pressure Campaign

Musk Thanks Apple And Amazon For Returning To Ad Campaigns On Twitter

Business

Twitter

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/south-carolina">South Carolina</a> became the second state in the union Monday to permanently ban state employees&#8217; electronic devices from using TikTok amid federal officials sounding the alarm that the Chinese-based social media app threatens national security.
Growing security concerns over the social media platform have caught lawmakers&#8217; attention recently after the Federal Communications Commission said the government agency could not regulate the social media app or control American data from flowing back to Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who requires companies to share its data upon request under the country&#8217;s 2017 National Intelligence Law.
Heeding warning signs from federal officials, Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina took action against state employees, alleging the app poses &#8220;a clear and present danger to its users,&#8221; as a growing bi-partisan coalition in Congress continues to push for a national ban on TikTok.
&#8220;Protecting our State&#8217;s critical cyber infrastructure from foreign and domestic threats is key to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens and businesses,&#8221; McMaster wrote in the <a href="https://governor.sc.gov/news/2022-12/gov-henry-mcmaster-blocks-tiktok-state-government-devices">letter</a> to the state&#8217;s Department of Administration Executive Director Marcia Adams.
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The Department of Administration carries out standard government functions such as internet services, managing mobile devices, computers, and other online devices at state agencies focusing on cybersecurity.
In his letter to Adams, McMaster requested an accounting of agencies not currently utilizing the shared services, saying several state agencies continue operating in a &#8220;silo.&#8221;
&#8220;I ask that you provide my office with a listing of state agencies for whom the department is unable to permanently block access to TikTok,&#8221; he added.
McMaster&#8217;s order follows South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who immediately banned state government employees from using the app last week, saying the officials would have &#8220;no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us.&#8221;
&#8220;The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform,&#8221; Noem <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/tech/south-dakota-tiktok/index.html">said</a> in a press release.
Other officials in South Dakota have previously sounded the alarm about the harm the app inflicts &#8220;garbage content&#8221; on American children and students. In contrast, China&#8217;s student base has access to educational content.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher introduced legislation last month to outright ban the app in the U.S., warning that CCP officials use the app &#8220;subtly indoctrinate American citizens.&#8221;
&#8220;TikTok is a major threat to U.S. national security,&#8221; the senators said, adding, &#8220;unless TikTok and its algorithm can be separated from Beijing, the app&#8217;s use in the United States will continue to jeopardize our country&#8217;s safety and pave the way for a Chinese-influenced tech landscape here.&#8221;
Rubio said that &#8220;no company is truly private&#8221; in China.
TikTok officials responded to federal officials, saying the company remains confident that it&#8217;s on a path to reaching an agreement regarding national security concerns with the federal government.

US-NEWS-WEA-IAN-SC-CS

‘A Clear And Present Danger To Its Users:’ South Carolina Gov. Bans State Employees From Using TikTok Amid National Security Concerns

Chinese Communist Party

National Security

South Carolina

World

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to &#8220;The Twitter Files&#8221; during Monday&#8217;s press briefing by claiming that it was &#8220;old news&#8221; and was a &#8220;distraction.&#8221;
Musk released internal company documents through journalist Matt Taibbi on Friday about the company’s censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 presidential election that showed top officials at the company were in regular contact with Democrats and censored content that Democrats wanted removed from the platform.
Jean-Pierre responded to a question from Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich about the release of the files.
&#8220;Decisions were made to censor reporting leading up to the election,&#8221; Heinrich said. &#8220;My question was, is it the White House view that these decisions were made appropriately in light of what has come out?&#8221;
&#8220;Which decisions by whom?&#8221; Jean-Pierre asked.
&#8220;By Twitter,&#8221; Heinrich responded.
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&#8220;So look, we see this as a, an interesting or a coincidence, if I may, that, that he would so haphazardly, Twitter was so haphazardly pushed this distraction,&#8221; Jean-Pierre claimed. &#8220;That is a, that is full of old news, if you think about it.&#8221;
&#8220;And at the same time, Twitter is facing very real and very serious questions about the rising volume of anger, hate and anti-semitism on their platform,&#8221; she claimed, &#8220;and how they&#8217;re letting it happen and, you know, the President said last week, more leaders need to speak out and reject this.&#8221;
&#8220;And it&#8217;s very alarming and very dangerous,” Jean-Pierre claimed, later adding, “It&#8217;s not healthy, it won&#8217;t do anything to help a single American improve their lives.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A reporter asks about the information <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> released about Twitter censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Jean-Pierre: &quot;We see this as an interesting—or, a coincidence, if I may, that Twitter would so haphazardly push this distraction that is full of old news.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XeSND8qzPp">pic.twitter.com/XeSND8qzPp</a>
&mdash; Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) <a href="https://twitter.com/FreeBeacon/status/1599875875352084480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-will-not-sign-autographs-ever-again-as-he-warns-assassination-risk-is-quite-significant">told</a> groveling paparazzi over the weekend night that he will “never again” sign autographs as he warned that the risk that someone will try to assassinate him is actually “quite significant.”
Musk told the paparazzi that he would no longer sign autographs after he landed in at Dulles International Airport Saturday night, TMZ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/12/04/elon-musk-tells-groveling-paparazzi-no-more-autographs/?adid=social-twa">reported</a>.
“I want to be clear, I’m not doing any more signings ever again,” Musk said as he was surrounded by security guards.
The news comes after Musk said during a chat on Twitter Spaces Saturday afternoon that the risk to his security has increased in recent months.
Musk told listeners that he would “definitely” not “be doing any open-air car parades, let me put it that way,” Musk <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/04/elon-musk-claims-risk-of-his-assassination-is-quite-significant/">said</a>. “Frankly the risk of something bad happening to me, or even literally being shot, is quite significant.”
“It’s not that hard to kill somebody if you wanted to, so hopefully they don’t, and fate smiles upon the situation with me and it does not happen,” he added. “There’s definitely some risk there.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-may-have-interfered-in-recent-major-foreign-election-elon-musk-says">Twitter May Have Interfered In Recent Major Foreign Election, Elon Musk Says</a>

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Holds Daily Briefing

Jean-Pierre On Revelations That Twitter Censored Content For Democrats: ‘Old News,’ A ‘Distraction’

Karine Jean-Pierre

White House

Facebook&#8217;s parent company, Meta, said Monday that it could be forced to remove news content from the social media platform if Democrat-controlled Congress passes a controversial bill known as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which gives media companies more power to negotiate collectively to take on companies like Google and Meta.
Opponents of the bill, like the CATO Institute, <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/dangerous-journalism-competition-preservation-act-returns">say</a> that it would create &#8220;a one-sided carve-​out from antitrust law – and only to a specific industry&#8221; and that it is fundamentally &#8220;incompatible with free markets and voluntary, mutually beneficial negotiation.&#8221;
&#8220;If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation, we will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions,&#8221; Meta said in a statement. &#8220;The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act fails to recognize the key fact: publishers and broadcasters put their content on our platform themselves because it benefits their bottom line &#8211; not the other way around.&#8221;
&#8220;No company should be forced to pay for content users don&#8217;t want to see and that&#8217;s not a meaningful source of revenue,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;Put simply: the government creating a cartel-like entity which requires one private company to subsidize other private entities is a terrible precedent for all American businesses.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Meta statement on the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act: <a href="https://t.co/kyFqKQw7xs">pic.twitter.com/kyFqKQw7xs</a>
&mdash; Andy Stone (@andymstone) <a href="https://twitter.com/andymstone/status/1599857809126195201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/facebook-owner-meta-remove-news-its-platform-if-congress-passes-media-bill-2022-12-05/">reported</a> that a similar law was passed in Australia in 2021, which led to a temporary shutdown of news content on Facebook.
Tech companies like Meta and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, have since signed deals with dozens of media companies to pay them for their content, the report said.
Mike Pompeo, who previously served as secretary of state and director of the CIA, encouraged Congress to not vote for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.
&#8220;Giving the media cartel power to censor conservatives would be a mistake,&#8221; Pompeo wrote on Twitter. &#8220;Congress should vote down the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.&#8221;
The response from Meta to the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act comes as the company has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heads-roll-at-meta-as-zuckerberg-announces-massive-layoffs">forced</a> in recent weeks to make massive cuts to its workforce.
The social media firm’s performance has worsened significantly over the past year as executives began pouring resources into developing the metaverse, an immersive virtual reality that Zuckerberg believes will serve as the next phase of digital communication. Beyond excessive funds devoted toward the project, analysts had criticized Zuckerberg for more than tripling payrolls from 25,000 people to 85,000 people over the past four years.
In a <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2022/11/mark-zuckerberg-layoff-message-to-employees/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to employees, Zuckerberg announced that he would lay off more than 11,000 staff members and extend the company’s hiring freeze. “In this new environment, we need to become more capital efficient,” he remarked. “We’ve cut costs across our business, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking our real estate footprint. We’re restructuring teams to increase our efficiency. But these measures alone won’t bring our expenses in line with our revenue growth, so I’ve also made the hard decision to let people go.”
Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

Facebook Unveils Meta

Facebook Owner Meta Could Remove News From The Platform If Congress Passes Controversial Bill

Facebook Owner Meta To Remove News From The Platform If Congress Passes Controversial Bill

Facebook

Journalism

Department Of Justice Spokesperson Denies Attorney General Considered Resigning Over President Trump’s Tweet

DOJ Sought Personal Information From Tara Reade’s Twitter Account After She Accused Joe Biden Of Sexual Assault

Department of Justice

Executive

Joe Biden

Politics

Sexual Assault

Tara Reade

Twitter CEO Elon Musk fired back at former President Donald Trump over the weekend after the former president suggested terminating parts of the U.S. Constitution in response to the release of the initial installment of &#8220;The Twitter Files&#8221; late last week.
Musk released internal company documents through journalist Matt Taibbi about the company’s censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 presidential election that showed top officials at the company were in regular contact with Democrats and censored content that Democrats wanted removed from the platform.
The former president responded in a series of posts on social media, with one in particular igniting widespread backlash from across the political spectrum.
“So, with the revelation of MASSIVE &amp; WIDESPREAD FRAUD &amp; DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, &amp; the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reacts-to-hunter-biden-twitter-files-widespread-fraud-in-2020-leaves-only-two-options">wrote</a>.
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“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump declared. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False &amp; Fraudulent Elections!”
Musk responded on Twitter to Trump&#8217;s post: &#8220;The Constitution is greater than any President. End of story.&#8221;
Musk&#8217;s tweet came in response to a story about the White House calling for Trump&#8217;s comments to be &#8220;universally condemned.&#8221;
Musk stated earlier this year that it was time for America to put a fresh face in the White House in 2024.
“I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat &amp; sail into the sunset,” Musk tweeted. “Dems should also call off the attack – don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency.”
When someone advocated for a Trump-DeSantis ticket in 2024, Musk responded, “Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America.”
“If DeSantis runs against Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will easily win – he doesn’t even need to campaign,” Musk continued.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America.
If DeSantis runs against Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will easily win – he doesn’t even need to campaign.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1546679818959278081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Do we really want a bull in a china shop situation every single day!?” Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-responds-directly-to-trump-labeling-him-a-bullst-artist-makes-plea-to-democrats">said</a>. “Also, I think the legal maximum age for start of Presidential term should be 69.”
Despite not being a fan of the former president, Musk did <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-to-reinstate-trump-on-twitter-trump-has-repeatedly-stated-he-wont-come-back">reinstate</a> his Twitter account late last month.
&#8220;I’m fine with Trump not tweeting. The important thing is that Twitter correct a grave mistake in banning his account, despite no violation of the law or terms of service,&#8221; Musk tweeted. &#8220;Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America.&#8221;
&#8220;As a reminder, I was a significant supporter of the Obama-Biden presidency and (reluctantly) voted for Biden over Trump,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But freedom of speech is the bedrock of a strong democracy and must take precedence. My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would [be] the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far.&#8221;
When asked if he would support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) for president, Musk replied, &#8220;Yes.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
But freedom of speech is the bedrock of a strong democracy and must take precedence.
My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1596315609385431040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Heidi Klum’s Halloween Party 2022

Musk Fires Back At Trump For Suggesting Terminating Parts Of U.S. Constitution Over ‘Twitter Files’ Release

Donald Trump

Social Media Censorship

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe reacted to Twitter&#8217;s release of internal company documents late last week by saying that one of the key players in the social media company&#8217;s decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020 is &#8220;the Michael Phelps of gold medal winning performances when it comes to election interference.&#8221;
Ratcliffe made the remarks during an interview on Fox News Sunday night with Trey Gowdy.
Musk released internal company communications through journalist Matt Taibbi about the company’s censorship of the story and about how the company removed tweets at the behest of the Democratic Party, a decision that he made because he said it was “necessary to restore public trust” in the platform.
&#8220;Do you happen to remember, there was a letter signed by some so-called national security and intelligence officials warning that the Hunter Biden laptop might be Russian disinformation?&#8221; Gowdy asked. &#8220;Do you recall that?&#8221;
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&#8220;Yeah. So, Trey, as you know, not just me, but the Attorney General and the FBI director, we all put out statements back in October of 2020, alerting the American people that the Hunter Biden laptop was not Russian disinformation,&#8221; Ratcliffe responded. &#8220;And we did that, because we wanted the American people to be aware of the issues as they as they came up to an election, to be fully informed. And unfortunately, what we are seeing through what&#8217;s happened with Elon Musk and the Twitter files, is that the truth about this issue was suppressed and lies were amplified and lies in the form of election interference from the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, who said this was Russian disinformation and coordinated with former intelligence officials to amplify that lie through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.&#8221;
When asked about a Twitter employee James Baker&#8217;s role in all of this and whether it was the same James Baker who was at the FBI, Ratcliffe confirmed that it was the same person.
&#8220;So, the same James Baker that, to remind your viewers was general counsel for Jim Comey at the FBI, who helped write an exoneration memo for Hillary Clinton before she was ever interviewed by the FBI for having hundreds of classified emails on her server, that same James Baker then met with the Clinton campaign officials to hand carry evidence, supposed evidence about Russian collusion, the Steele dossier, the Alpha bank connections with the Trump campaign into the FBI and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation that went on for years,&#8221; Ratcliffe said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the same James Baker that ultimately at Twitter said statements from the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Director of National Intelligence that say this is not Russian disinformation, apparently aren&#8217;t clear enough, and we need to suppress this.&#8221;
&#8220;So yeah, I think these Twitter files are revealing that you know, James Baker is the the Michael Phelps of gold medal winning performances when it comes to election interference,&#8221; he added.
WATCH:
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TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>TREY GOWDY: Welcome back to Sunday Night in America. The threat from China is not going away. Our next guest warned us of that two years ago. What can or should be done about China? And do you remember the Hunter Biden laptop? Some self identified national security experts said it might be Russian disinformation. Turns out it was just liberal Twitter employees trying to help a Democrat win the presidency. So that&#8217;s our choice, Russian disinformation or electioneering by Twitter lawyers? Joining us now is the former Director of National Intelligence, a former congressman from the great state of Texas and a former United States Attorney, John Lee Ratcliffe. Director, let&#8217;s start with China. What concerns you the most? What&#8217;s the latest? What should our viewers be looking out for as it relates to China?
JOHN RATCLIFFE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, I would say, Trey, that we should be most concerned about the Biden foreign policy approach to our nation&#8217;s number one adversary. Look, you&#8217;ve mentioned the op-ed that I wrote two years ago, if anything, I underestimated the level and timing of China&#8217;s aggression. I mean, look, just four months ago, we had the Chinese Communist Party state-run media advocating to shoot down the plane carrying the Speaker of the House and members of Congress if they dared land on the island of Taiwan more than more than 100 miles from China&#8217;s border. You know, China views us as an enemy or an adversary and, you know, the the current administration keeps referring to China as a competitor. And you know, until we start to take this seriously and project strength, you know, the threat of China is going to continue to get greater as time goes by.
GOWDY: All right, Director, I want to switch gears: Do you happen to remember, there was a letter signed by some so-called national security and intelligence officials warning that the Hunter Biden laptop might be Russian disinformation? Do you recall that?
RATCLIFFE: Yeah. So, Trey, as you know, not just me, but the Attorney General and the FBI director, we all put out statements back in October of 2020, alerting the American people that the Hunter Biden laptop was not Russian disinformation. And we did that, because we wanted the American people to be aware of the issues as they as they came up to an election, to be fully informed. And unfortunately, what we are seeing through what&#8217;s happened with Elon Musk and the Twitter files, is that the truth about this issue was suppressed and lies were amplified and lies in the form of election interference from the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, who said this was Russian disinformation and coordinated with former intelligence officials to amplify that lie through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
GOWDY: All right. So, director, when you said it was not Russian disinformation, all right, and the FBI backed you up when you said that, you&#8217;re the head of the intelligence community and you said, &#8216;hey, look, no offense to Adam Schiff. This is not Russian disinformation&#8217;, the FBI backs you up. In some articles that I read, there was a Twitter employee by the name of James Baker that was involved in the decision making to kind of suppress that content. There was also an FBI General Counsel named James Baker, that could not possibly be the same one could it?
RATCLIFFE: Oh, you know, it is Trey. So the same James Baker that, to remind your viewers was general counsel for Jim Comey at the FBI, who helped write an exoneration memo for Hillary Clinton before she was ever interviewed by the FBI for having hundreds of classified emails on her server, that same James Baker then met with the Clinton campaign officials to hand carry evidence, supposed evidence about Russian collusion, the Steele dossier, the Alpha bank connections with the Trump campaign into the FBI and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation that went on for years. That&#8217;s the same James Baker that ultimately at Twitter said statements from the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Director of National Intelligence that say this is not Russian disinformation, apparently aren&#8217;t clear enough, and we need to suppress this. So yeah, I think these Twitter files are revealing that you know, James Baker is the the Michael Phelps of gold medal winning performances when it comes to election interference.
Related: <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3230682/china-military-power-report-examines-changes-in-beijings-strategy/">Pentagon: China Blitzed Past U.S. Estimates For Nuclear Buildup, Could Have 1,000 Warheads By 2030</a></blockquote>

Key Speakers At America First Agenda Summit

Former DNI John Ratcliffe On ‘Twitter Files’: James Baker An Olympic Champ On Interfering In Elections

John Ratcliffe

Trey Gowdy

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nick-sandmann">Nick Sandmann</a>, the former Covington Catholic High School student who gained national attention after the mainstream media lied about an interaction that he had with a Native American man in 2019, responded to Twitter CEO Elon Musk releasing internal company documents about how the social media platform was previously engaged in censorship by asking him to look into the threats that were allowed against him on the platform.
Sandmann was the focal point of a media firestorm in January 2019 when he stood in front of Native American activist Nathan Phillips and smiled as he wore a &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; hat. Sandmann faced repeated smears and vile attacks in the media over the incident and several news organizations were forced to settle lawsuits with him as a result.
Sandmann highlighted something he posted a couple of years ago that showed a verified accounts on the platform making threats against him and his classmates.
&#8220;As I’m watching this all play out, I’m wondering if @elonmusk has any hidden twitter files relating to what went on here,&#8221; Sandmann said. &#8220;Let’s be clear: under the watch of @vijaya they allowed these illegal threats when I was 16 years old.&#8221;
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As I’m watching this all play out, I’m wondering if <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> has any hidden twitter files relating to what went on here. Let’s be clear: under the watch of <a href="https://twitter.com/vijaya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vijaya</a> they allowed these illegal threats when I was 16 years old. <a href="https://t.co/j2bWEvpGsI">https://t.co/j2bWEvpGsI</a>
&mdash; Nicholas Sandmann (@N1ckSandmann) <a href="https://twitter.com/N1ckSandmann/status/1599296109960011777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We never sued twitter for the section 230 complications,&#8221; he added. &#8220;That doesn’t mean I’ve given up uncovering the truth of what really went on.&#8221;
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Musk released the information Friday evening through journalist Matt Taibbi. The documents showed that the platform was working in conjunction with then-Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden’s team, removing tweets that team Biden wanted deleted.
Musk said that he decided to release the information because it was “necessary to restore public trust” in the platform after it censored the New York Post’s bombshell report about Hunter Biden’s laptop just weeks before the 2020 presidential election.
Musk told the paparazzi that he would no longer sign autographs after he landed in at Dulles International Airport Saturday night, TMZ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/12/04/elon-musk-tells-groveling-paparazzi-no-more-autographs/?adid=social-twa">reported</a>.
“I want to be clear, I’m not doing any more signings ever again,” Musk said as he was surrounded by security guards.
The news comes after Musk said during a chat on Twitter Spaces Saturday afternoon that the risk to his security has increased in recent months.
Musk told listeners that he would “definitely” not “be doing any open-air car parades, let me put it that way,” Musk <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/04/elon-musk-claims-risk-of-his-assassination-is-quite-significant/">said</a>. “Frankly the risk of something bad happening to me, or even literally being shot, is quite significant.”
“It’s not that hard to kill somebody if you wanted to, so hopefully they don’t, and fate smiles upon the situation with me and it does not happen,” he added. “There’s definitely some risk there.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-may-have-interfered-in-recent-major-foreign-election-elon-musk-says">Twitter May Have Interfered In Recent Major Foreign Election, Elon Musk Says</a>

Nicholas Sandmann

Nick Sandmann Calls On Musk To Release Documents On Threats Twitter ‘Allowed’ To Be Made Against Him

Covington Catholic High School

Nick Sandmann

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