Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

Federal, state govs monitor Americans' social posts: TWITTER FILES

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Daily Mail
  • 18 Dec 2022 12:36
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

"Twitter files" reveal that the FBI and former Twitter Senior Director of Trust & Safety exchanged more than 150 emails.

  • x
  • Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco, Calif. Source: David Odisho/Getty Images.
    Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco, California (Getty Images)

A new release in The Twitter Files series came out on Friday afternoon, revealing that federal law enforcement officials were working closely with Twitter employees to censor content.

Journalist Matt Taibbi reported that Yoel Roth, then-Twitter Senior Director of Trust & Safety, exchanged more than 150 emails with the FBI between January 2020 and November 2022.

“A surprisingly high number are requests by the FBI for Twitter to take action on election misinformation, even involving joke tweets from low-follower accounts,” Taibbi said.

“The FBI’s social media-focused task force, known as FTIF, created in the wake of the 2016 election, swelled to 80 agents and corresponded with Twitter to identify alleged foreign influence and election tampering of all kinds.”

Read next: TWITTER FILES: Twitter execs worked closely with FBI, US intelligence

“Federal intelligence and law enforcement reach into Twitter included the Department of Homeland Security, which partnered with security contractors and think tanks to pressure Twitter to moderate content,” he continued.

According to the most recent documents discovered during the investigation, the FBI and DHS were "regularly sending social media content to Twitter through multiple entry points, pre-flagged for moderation."

Taibbi showed examples of the FBI reaching out to get action taken on specific tweets:

“HELLO TWITTER CONTACTS”: The master-canine quality of the FBI’s relationship to Twitter comes through in this November 2022 email, in which “FBI San Francisco is notifying you” it wants action on four accounts: pic.twitter.com/LjgB6fxENo

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022

Stacia Cardille, then-director and associate general counsel for Twitter's global policy legal team, emailed then-Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker, saying she was meeting with the FBI, DOJ, DHS, and ODNI about election threats on a regular basis.

Other internal company emails revealed employees reviewing a list of tweets flagged by the FBI as having "possible violative content":

Related News

Russia ratifies military deal with Cuba amid US escalation

Araghchi denies any contact with US envoy Witkoff over nuclear talks

28. About one, she writes: “Flagged a specific Tweet on Illinois use of modems to transmit election results in possible violation of the civic integrity policy (except they do use that tech in limited circumstances).”

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022

The FBI also shared DHS bulletins about threats to US elections with Twitter.

31. In this March, 2021 email, an FBI liaison thanks a senior Twitter exec for the chance to speak to “you and the team,” then delivers a packet of “products”: pic.twitter.com/POOpYrd9q8

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022

“The ubiquity of the 2016 Russian interference story as stated pretext for building out the censorship machine can’t be overstated,” Taibbi wrote. “It’s analogous to how 9/11 inspired the expansion of the security state.”

Read next: Ex-Twitter CEO responsible for social network's political censorship

The volume of tweets flagged by the FBI, according to Taibbi, was so large that Twitter employees congratulated each other in internal company communications for the "monumental undertaking" of reviewing them.

Taibbi also revealed that the government has multiple channels through which it can submit content-related information to Twitter.

35.FBI in one case sent over so many “possible violative content” reports, Twitter personnel congratulated each other in Slack for the “monumental undertaking” of reviewing them: pic.twitter.com/rt5WzhfCga

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022

The state of California also inquired as to why the company did not respond to a tweet from then-President Donald Trump.

39.Twitter for instance received reports via the Partner Support Portal, an outlet created by the Center for Internet Security, a partner organization to the DHS.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022

"What most people think of as the 'deep state' is really a tangled collaboration of state agencies, private contractors, and (sometimes state-funded) NGOs," Taibbi said, adding that "the lines become so blurred as to be meaningless."

Read next: TWITTER FILES: James Woods furious on explicit Hunter post censorship

  • United States
  • Matt Taibbi
  • Elon Musk
  • Twitter
  • Twitter Files

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
ap

'Israel' pays influencers $7K per post to whitewash Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Retired Israeli General Brik says Israel has reached point of no return.
Politics

Retired Israeli General Brik: 'Israel has reached point of no return'

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation
Politics

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation

Gaza’s newborns gasp for life as hospitals collapse amid Israeli war
Health

Gaza newborns gasp for life, share oxygen masks amid collapsed system

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls
Politics

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS