A new Twitter Files report provided evidence that the social media giant was aware that the claims of Russian bots influencing elections were exaggerated.
The report showed that Twitter offered its response to "Russian misinformation" as an effort to appease Democrats despite their lack of concern about the claims.
‘Congressional Trolls:‘ Twitter Files Show Company Knew Democrat Claims About ‘Russian Bots‘ Were False https://t.co/80At2keUR4 via @BreitbartNews
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) January 13, 2023
“Twitter warned politicians and media the[y] not only lacked evidence, but had evidence the accounts weren’t Russian – and were roundly ignored,” wrote journalist Matt Taibbi, who released the latest batch of the Twitter Files, according to Breitbart News.
"One prominent example highlighted by Taibbi is when former Congressman Devin Nunes submitted his classified memo to the House Intelligence Committee, exposing FBI abuses in using FISA courts to approve surveillance against individuals linked to Trump, and the critical role played by the discredited Steele Dossier," it added.
3.Twitter officials were aghast, finding no evidence of Russian influence:
“We are feeding congressional trolls.”
“Not any…significant activity connected to Russia.”
“Putting the cart before the horse assuming this is propaganda/bots.” pic.twitter.com/r8O21QacME— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023
“I just reviewed the accounts that posted the first 50 tweets with #releasethememo and… none of them show any signs of affiliation to Russia,” wrote Yoel Roth, a former Twitter leader.
17.Roth couldn’t find any Russian connection to #ReleaseTheMemo – at all. “I just reviewed the accounts that posted the first 50 tweets with #releasethememo and… none of them show any signs of affiliation to Russia.” pic.twitter.com/wJJ3rmI3Ks
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023
Twitter officials even compared the Democrats' efforts to the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," a children's story in which a mouse makes one request after another in an endless series of demands.
https://t.co/eOqNK7yE15 the story, if you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk, which will lead to a wave of other exhausting requests, at the end of which he’ll want a glass of milk. And one more cookie. pic.twitter.com/ySlFfzGt1y
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023
The latest Twitter Files report adds to a series of other investigations released since Elon Musk bought the company and turned it private.
Musk has fired over half of the company's workforce and added more efforts to increase free speech among the platform's users.
His efforts have also included reinstating many banned accounts, including Libs of TikTok and even former President Donald Trump.
The new Twitter Files show that coordinated censorship between Democrats and Twitter took place for years in ways that greatly influenced American politics.
