Two more Twitter Files releases happened this weekend. Both involve the decisions behind banning Republican users, most notably former President Trump.
These are the third and fourth reports since early December. It is part of new owner Elon Musk’s efforts to help users understand the platform they’ve been using and how the rules of engagement are bent for one party and weaponized for another.
The third release came from journalist Matt Taibbi. It shows how Twitter executives knew that they would have to interpret rules around President Trump and other conservatives loosely. It also shows how Twitter executives were being influenced by government agencies such as the FBI and the Justice Department. They openly discuss how to frame this relationship to the public. As in, “How can we say that we are being influenced by the government? Should we call them “partnerships”?
Partnering with the government you say? Kind of a big one, don’t you think?
The fourth release comes from author Michael Shellenberger. He shows how there was pressure from high profile liberals to ban Trump and others and how people on the inside were actively looking for reasons to do so. Only one adult in the room seemed concerned with this power grab.
Musk hinted that the next round of files will revolve around Covid censorship and stoked anger when he Tweeted that Dr. Fauci should be prosecuted.
What has struck me around the conversation this weekend is how hard the cancel culture is pivoting to NOT cancel the people who made these autocratic decisions but instead defend them. These people lied to us and there is no appetite from the left for any accountability. Most are reacting to this based on what they want to feel, not what they actually see. It’s incredibly unconscious.
