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The Twitter Files
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Twitter Files #6: FBI flagged accounts, including jokes

Taibbi documented a steady flow of FBI reports to Twitter flagging accounts for alleged election misinformation, some of them obvious satire with few followers. Twitter often acted on them. The FBI said it flagged possible violations but never directed action.

Dec 16, 2022
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Whose side it served: Neither party

The flagged accounts included left- and right-leaning users, so the record shows government reach into moderation rather than one party's benefit.

What the record shows

Taibbi reported that the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force grew to 80 agents and that there were over 150 emails between the FBI and Yoel Roth from January 2020 to November 2022. San Francisco FBI agent Elvis Chan sent lists of accounts to his 'Twitter folks,' and Twitter replied with actions taken. One flagged account, @ClaireFosterPHD, was a left-leaning satirist joking about voting. Of six accounts in one batch, all but two were suspended.

In their words

“Anyone who cannot discern obvious satire from reality has no place making decisions”— Claire Foster, flagged account holder (per Taibbi) · source
“we never direct or ask them to take action”— FBI statement · source
The other side

The FBI said that when it flagged possible violations, 'we never direct or ask them to take action,' and Roth testified the FBI avoided advocating specific outcomes. The Supreme Court in Murthy v. Missouri (2024) did not decide whether such contacts were coercive, ruling the plaintiffs lacked standing.

Sources

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