Staff Reports
According to a report released by The New York Times, Twitter received numerous intelligence reports from US agencies about foreign influence. These reports identified topics such as Ukraine propaganda and COVID vaccines.
In response to a question from journalist Matt Taibbi, the FBI defended its approach to addressing concerns about the content on Twitter, saying that it has been doing so for a long time.
Many people are wondering if platforms such as Twitter receive instructions from US intelligence agencies regarding the moderation of foreign news reports. According to Taibbi, it's possible that Twitter received such reports from the FBI and the FITF. These reports are more factually inaccurate than those from domestic sources.
According to the journalist, some of the intelligence reports that Twitter received included a listing of accounts that were tied to the so-called "Ukraine neo-Nazi" movement. These accounts were monitoring the activities of a suspected Russian online propaganda network. The report noted that these activities were aimed at "propagating false information about the Ukrainian government and the US" during the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
One of the most common themes that emerged in the reports was the idea that the US was responsible for the "Nazification" of Ukraine. According to a bullet point, former Vice President Joe Biden helped organize a coup in 2014 and put Hunter Biden on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
Another report claimed that the Biden administration was involved in corruption in the distribution of vaccines. According to Taibbi, the report included a list of accounts that accused the former Vice President of corruption. The screen shot of the report showed various details about the alleged scheme, such as how the Biden administration was able to get better access to the vaccine queue in developing nations, such as Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
47. One intel report lists accounts tied to “Ukraine ‘neo-Nazi’ Propaganda.’” This includes assertions that Joe Biden helped orchestrate a coup in 2014 and “put his son on the board of Burisma.” pic.twitter.com/BiTj9SIHgH
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 24, 2022
In his 56-point thread, Taibbi noted that various reports that were released by the FBI and the FITF contained links and accounts that were linked to foreign entities. He also said that government agencies shared information with tech companies such as Twitter. Despite the company's efforts to block flagged accounts, Taibbi noted that the line between "misinformation" and "distorting propaganda" is still thin.
49. Often intelligence came in the form of brief reports, followed by long lists of accounts simply deemed to be pro-Maduro, pro-Cuba, pro-Russia, etc. This one batch had over 1000 accounts marked for digital execution: pic.twitter.com/zkf4QdUv3E
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 24, 2022
Although it was not clear how each report was produced, Taibbi noted that whistleblower John Kiriakou believed that he spotted some of the formatting.
According to Taibbi, Kiriakou noted that what appeared above the "tearline" was the CIA's office and all of the copied offices. The journalist also noted that the agency has not commented on its relationship with tech companies, such as Twitter.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Daily Wire.
