The newest installment of the ‘Twitter Files’ – disclosures of internal documents showing Censorship efforts on the platform – reveals a disturbing, if unsurprising, development showing how the FBI can be weaponized by foreign power.
This latest scandal shows that, in early 2022, the FBI aided ‘misinformation’ (censorship) efforts against Twitter users, including American and Canadian journalists.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation has aided a Ukrainian intelligence effort to censor social media users and obtain their personal information, leaked emails reveal.
In March 2022, an FBI Special Agent sent Twitter a list of accounts on behalf of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Ukraine’s main intelligence agency. The accounts, the FBI wrote, “are suspected by the SBU in spreading fear and disinformation.” In an attached memo, the SBU asked Twitter to remove the accounts and hand over their user data.
The Ukrainian government’s FBI-enabled targets extend to members of the media. The SBU list that the FBI provided to Twitter included my name and Twitter profile. In its response to the FBI, Twitter agreed to review the accounts for ‘inauthenticity’ but raised concerns about the inclusion of me and other ‘American and Canadian journalists’.”
The email, from FBI Special Agent Aleksandr Kobzanets, the Assistant Legal Attaché at the US Embassy in Kyiv, to two Twitter executives, had an attached document, that was drafted by Ukraine’s SBU, and contained 163 accounts.
“To stop Russian aggression on the information front, we kindly ask you to take urgent measures to block these Twitter accounts and provide us with user data specified during registration.”
Not only did the FBI ask for the accounts to be banned from Twitter, but also that their phone number, date of birth, and email address disclosed to both the FBI and SBU.
Of all the #TwitterFiles stories, this one is perhaps the most damning about the FBI, showing that it is willing to help a foreign government try to suppress a prominent Western journalist. It’s outrageous and provides further evidence the FBI is out of control. https://t.co/iNwgJxYe2O
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) June 7, 2023
Aaron Mate:
“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’. 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’.”
The FBI declined to answer my questions about its aid to Ukrainian intelligence censorship efforts.
“While we appreciate your inquiry, as a matter of practice we do not confirm, deny, or otherwise comment on specific interactions nor confirm the veracity of correspondence,” FBI…
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) June 7, 2023
The post New Twitter Files Show FBI Requested Censoring of Twitter Users on Behalf of Ukraine – Including American and Canadian Journalists appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.