Bari Weiss happy to ‘debate’ FBI over accusation that 'Twitter Files' are 'misinformation'
‘I would welcome that debate,’ Weiss said after the FBI tarred her reporting as 'misinformation'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Free Press founder Bari Weiss said she'd be happy to "debate" the FBI after the agency tarred the "Twitter Files" she and other independent journalists have been reporting on, labeling them "misinformation."
One Twitter user drew up the battle lines in a post with almost one million views. "The FBI is calling @bariweiss, @mtaibbi, and @ShellenbergerMD ‘conspiracy theorists’ who are purveying ‘disinformation.’ I'd like to see an open debate between these parties. What an extraordinary moment for our govt institutions."
"I would welcome that debate," Weiss responded.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bari Weiss, editor of The Free Press and host of "Honestly" podcast speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, May 3, 2022. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
FBI BLASTED FOR DISMISSING TWITTER FILES AS MISINFORMATION: 'CHILLING'
Weiss' open challenge to the FBI came after the agency framed the "Twitter Files" as the work of "conspiracy theorists."
"It is unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the public misinformation with the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency," the FBI wrote in a statement to Fox News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Twitter owner Elon Musk worked with Weiss, Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and others on releasing batches of the "Twitter Files," which among other things has revealed what happened behind the scenes of some of the tech giant's most controversial actions in recent years, like censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story and permanently banning former President Trump.
Left-wing politicians and media personalities have attempted to discredit the "Twitter Files" and the journalists who released the information online. Weiss has said the only condition of working with Musk was that they first had to release their findings on Twitter. Though Weiss and Taibbi have liberal backgrounds, outlets like the Washington Post and MSNBC have labeled them "conservative" or "right-leaning" in an apparent effort to impugn their integrity.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The misleading ‘Twitter Files’ cherry picks examples. But anecdotes do not constitute data," Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, tweeted on Dec. 17.
"@mtaibbi @bariweiss and @elonmusk are gaslighting you," Lieu continued.
Liberal Washington Post tech columnist Taylor Lorenz claimed Weiss and others like her are pretending to be anti-establishment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Bari Weiss, LibsofTikTok, and other right wing/reactionary content creators are not ‘anti establishment,’ they are simply selling the same old old, legacy power structures back to the public in new shiny packaging."
ELON MUSK CLASHES WITH 'TWITTER FILES' JOURNO BARI WEISS AFTER SHE CRITICIZES JOURNALIST SUSPENSIONS
Although Weiss has been accused by progressives of being a toady for Musk, she made headlines this month by feuding with him online after Twitter temporarily suspended several journalists on the platform, many of them staunchly left-wing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Free Press founder expressed fears that Musk’s new Twitter "regime" was "governed by its own whims and biases."
Twitter owner Elon Musk conducted a Twitter poll on whether Congress should approve a $1.7 trillion government spending bill. (Getty Images)
Musk argued in return that he was protecting his family from being doxxed in what would amount to "assassination coordinates" for the billionaire and his children; the suspensions stemmed from them sharing tracking information about his private jet.