The latest Twitter Files uncovered the FBI requesting the social media company to censor accounts accused of spreading misinromation about the Ukraine-Russia war and collect their personal information.
A special agent from the FBI reached out to Twitter with a list of accounts according to The Grayzone News host Aaron Maté, who reported on the latest Twitter Files.
“The FBI is helping Ukraine censor Twitter users, including journalists,” Maté reported. “The FBI aided a Ukrainian intelligence effort to ban Twitter users and collect their data. Twitter declined to censor journalists targeted by Ukraine.”
Maté was included on the list of accounts.
Along with the list of accounts, the agent also reportedly forwarded a request from Ukraine’s SBU, which said, “we kindly ask you to take urgent measures to block these Twitter accounts and provide us with user data specified during registration.”
However, Yoel Roth, Twitter’s Head of Trust and Safety at the time responded to the FBI about how they would check the authenticity of some of the accounts listed, but he shared concern with censoring American and Canadian journalists.
“In an initial look, they do appear to be a mix of individual accounts (that may or may not be authentic), some official Russian accounts (including state media accounts which are already labeled under our policies), and even a few accounts of American and Canadian journalists (e.g. Aaron Mate),” Roth wrote.
“News of the FBI’s work with Ukrainian intelligence to censor Twitter users also follows reporting from journalist Lee Fang that the FBI has pressured Facebook to remove accounts and posts deemed by the SBU to be Russian ‘disinformation,’” Maté wrote. “According to Fang, a senior Ukrainian official in regular contact with the FBI defined ‘disinformation’ in such broad terms that it could mean viewpoints that ‘simply contradict the Ukrainian government’s narrative.’”
When reached for comment, the FBI said they do not confirm, deny, or otherwise comment on specific interactions nor confirm the veracity of correspondence
The FBI has come under increasing scrutiny over the past year, as many argue it has been politicized. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Matt Taibbi said that the latest revelation about Ukraine and the FBI requesting censorship from Twitter was one of the most disturbing revelations thus far from the Twitter Files. Taibbi has reported on several Twitter Files stories in the past.
“The latest batch of Twitter files show that the censorious cabal running the FBI is not only willing to pursue censorship on behalf of its own leftist political interests, but also on behalf of foreign governments,” Vazquez said. “The institution has been shown beyond all reasonable doubt to have been corrupted beyond repair.”
He continued, “The fact that a foreign government was working with the FBI to communicate with Twitter in order to censor Americans and journalists just makes the whole issue of Big Tech-Government censorship ten times worse. Whoever was responsible for this needs to be dragged in front of Congress and put on display for all Americans to see. If this doesn’t fit the textbook definition of foreign collusion, I don’t know what does.”