Staff Reports
In recent months, the mainstream media has been abuzz with news of former President Donald Trump’s attempts to censor a tweet critical of him. However, journalist Matt Taibbi recently uncovered a much more serious violation of the First Amendment. In his latest edition of the Twitter Files, Taibbi revealed communications between government officials and Twitter executives that suggest a clear violation of the First Amendment.
4. Then House hearings were held last week, at which one witness told a story about Donald Trump asking to remove a mean tweet by Chrissy Teigen.
The press went bananas. Now THAT was big news! pic.twitter.com/8ynYaD0lBb
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 19, 2023
The emails Taibbi uncovered showed that Senator Angus King’s office had identified 354 “suspicious accounts” and asked Twitter to censor them. These accounts were deemed suspicious for a variety of reasons, such as sharing “Rand Paul visit excitement” or “mentions immigration”. Additionally, State Department official Mark Lenzi asked Twitter to remove 14 accounts, some of which had been skeptical about “Russiagate”.
5. Purely to show the bankruptcy of media in this area, let’s introduce a pair of loud new data points, and see if any press figures at all cover either of them.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 19, 2023
7. Here’s Maine Senator Angus King writing to Twitter to call a slew of accounts “suspicious” for reasons like:
“Rand Paul visit excitement”
“Bot (averages 20 tweets a day)”
Being followed by rival Eric Brakey
Or, my personal favorite: “Mentions immigration.” pic.twitter.com/uoJRlfrlOp— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 19, 2023
10. Lenzi wrote to Twitter bluntly asking to remove 14 accounts distinguished among other things by skepticism of Russiagate: “The below are some Russian controlled accounts that I think you will want to look into and delete.” pic.twitter.com/EWmStMTRpr
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 19, 2023
13. The fact that mainstream outlets ignored the Schiff story but howled about Teigen shows what they're about. Responses like this are designed to keep blue-leaning audiences especially focused on moronic partisan spats, obscuring bigger picture narratives.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 19, 2023
Taibbi called this a “clear First Amendment issue” and noted that many of those targeted were real people, using basic political speech to say things the State Department apparently didn’t like. He also revisited how Congressman Adam Schiff’s office had previously asked Twitter to censor accounts in a similar manner.
The journalist questioned whether or not the establishment press would cover these latest allegations, despite them being based on credible and newsworthy evidence and involving some of the most powerful people in government. He argued that if the press was willing to cover Trump’s attempts to censor an entertainment personality, then surely they should cover these more serious violations of the First Amendment.
Taibbi’s argument raises an important question: will the U.S. media actually cover the purported damage being done to the one amendment that not only protects our speech but their entire profession? It remains to be seen if the press will take up this issue and hold those in power accountable for their actions.
The preceding article is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Based Politics
