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The censor’s pen always grows thicker. That’s what we learn from The Twitter Files so far.
The Twitter Files are major revelations that show what we all suspected was happening at Twitter. What started as a content moderation system to stop child pornography grew out of control into a political viewpoint censorship operation. Even figures from the Steele dossier fiasco were critically involved.
Elon Musk did a public service to reveal the documents behind Twitter’s decision-making on the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020. They clearly show that Twitter employees had the power to do whatever they wanted to user content, and they abused that power with weak justification.
NPR QUIET ON TWITTER FILES AFTER CALLING HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY A WASTE OF TIME
The files reveal that Twitter employees did censorship on call for political figures. In 2020, a Biden campaign official could just send a list of links and a Twitter employee would respond with two words: "handled these." Both sides could use this back door and make requests to take down links from ordinary users and celebrities, but the documents show that one side got its way a lot more.
The New York Times and The Washington Post both verified Hunter Biden's laptop after big tech dismissed the New York Post's bombshell reporting during the 2020 presidential election. (Getty images | New York Post)
The files reveal just how many ways the platform could and did censor materials: Twitter went from removing links of the original New York Post story on Hunter Biden’s laptop to blocking direct messages – a tool normally used to block child pornography from spreading. Twitter also limited visibility to similar stories.
These were the most drastic measures Twitter could take, and the files reveal their flimsy defense. Employees repeatedly cited the "hacked materials" policy, but none of them could provide an official law enforcement finding of a hack – the kind of evidence the policy usually required. Some employees acknowledged the situation was developing and they needed more information as the situation – but they still advised to continue interfering with the story. They censored first, asked questions later.
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The absence of then-CEO Jack Dorsey’s leadership in the files also shows the risk of letting employees run amok with the censor’s pen. Dorsey often championed Twitter’s founding ideals of allowing people to create and share freely. But in practice he abdicated responsibility of free speech to executives who come across in the files as much more politically minded.
Mainstream media has ignored or downplayed these revelations. The one New York Times article, published over a day after the files were released, doesn’t link to the files or provide screenshots of key documents. Much of the article discusses the reputation of the journalist who broke the story rather than the story itself.
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I’m optimistic that Americans will see through the media’s ruse again. The attempts to paint the laptop story as Russian disinformation fall in the face of the evidence that has built up over the years. According to a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, 59% of Americans, including half of Democrats, now believe the laptop was real. It should be over 90% – nearly 40%, mostly Democrats, still believe in the Russia disinformation ruse. These voters are being kept in the dark about the content.
I’m also cautiously optimistic that Musk can improve Twitter’s free speech policies. Revealing the evidence behind Twitter’s greatest censorship failure on Twitter itself was a necessary first step. Musk showed us how irresponsibly Twitter was using its censor’s pen. Now he needs to put the cap back on and show how responsible content moderation can restore trust and confidence to a platform that was truly broken.
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