FBI and Russian-Infiltrated Agency in Ukraine Collaborated to Censor Americans
The FBI’s Collusion with Russian-Infiltrated Intelligence Agency Exposed
In a shocking revelation, a new document released on Monday reveals that the FBI collaborated with a Russian-infiltrated intelligence agency in Ukraine to suppress American speech. The report, published by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, exposes the FBI’s cooperation with foreign agents to orchestrate online censorship.
The committee’s analysis of these “disinformation” registries uncovered that the FBI, at the request of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), flagged the authentic accounts of Americans for social media companies, including verified U.S. State Department accounts and those belonging to American journalists. The FBI even went as far as following up with the platforms to ensure the removal of these accounts.
The SBU, which was infiltrated by the Kremlin’s Federal Security Service (FSB), played a significant role in President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The head of the SBU’s Crimean branch, accused of being a double agent, was fired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The entire SBU, led by Ivan Bakanov, was later dismissed due to its compromised status.
Lawmakers emphasized that the FBI had no legal justification for facilitating the censorship of Americans’ protected speech on social media. The report was compiled based on subpoenas to Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) and Alphabet (overseeing Google and YouTube).
At the center of this operation was FBI Agent Elvis Chan, serving as the primary liaison between the FBI and Silicon Valley. Chan coordinated meetings between the FBI and social media companies during the 2020 and 2022 elections. The SBU’s collaboration with the FBI continued for months before Russian agents were purged from the Ukrainian security service.
The FBI and SBU sent massive spreadsheets containing thousands of accounts for censorship to Meta, and the FBI facilitated the SBU’s requests for censorship on Alphabet platforms. Posts supportive of Ukraine and critical of Putin were often flagged for removal.
One instance of censorship on Instagram involved the suspension of a verified State Department account. Lawmakers noted that neither the FBI nor the SBU provided an explanation for how the U.S. State Department account was involved in disinformation.
Furthermore, an American journalist’s name was redacted from one of the censorship requests. The level of coordination between the government and Silicon Valley was so extensive that Meta proposed a 24/7 channel with foreign agents to facilitate censorship. This collaboration continued even after Twitter’s Yoel Roth warned U.S. officials about the SBU’s targeting of American accounts.
The full extent of the FBI’s collaboration with the SBU remains unknown, but investigators assert that the FBI’s participation in the SBU’s censorship enterprise was a deliberate choice involving at least seven agents across the Bureau.
About the Author
Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University, majoring in political science and minoring in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.
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