New ‘Twitter Files’ Drop Shows Prominent Media Source For Supposed ‘Russian Disinformation’ Was A Fraud

The most recent edition Twitter Files of Matt Taibbi, an investigative journalist, revealed that media Journalists, academics and policymakers who cited an initiative that was supposed to track the movement of something were cited. Russian disinformation You fell for an elaborate scam.

Hamilton 68 was a computerized dashboard that monitored purported Russian bot-infiltration and tracked 644 accounts linked to it “Russian influence activities online,” According to article Social media thread Taibbi. Twitter Executives “reverse-engineered” This list of accounts was made in response to concerns that Russian-speaking users could influence American politics. Only 36 of 644 accounts were registered in Russia. Many of the rest were American accounts.

In company email, executives wrote that accounts were not being maintained. “​​neither strongly Russian nor strongly bots” And concluded that there was “no evidence to support the statement that the dashboard is a finger on the pulse of Russian information.”

Yoel Roth, the social media company’s former Trust and Safety lead, characterized the project as “bulls***” One of the messages. He pointed out that the site had been accessed by many. “falsely accuses a bunch of legitimate right-leaning accounts of being Russian bots” Earns and “traction around partisan trends” It is possible to claim that “any right-leaning content is propagated by Russian bots.”

Clint Watts, an ex-FBI agent, initiated the project. He received support from the Alliance for Securing Democracy as well as the German Marshall Fund. Bipartisan think tank the Alliance for Securing Democracy has a panel of advocates that includes Michael Morell, ex-CIA Director, former American Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Bill Kristol, Bulwark editor-at­large.

Similar accusations of collusion against Russia were made followed Ex-President Donald Trump in his entire administration. Robert Mueller, a special attorney appointed by Justice Department, investigated allegations that Trump campaign had illegally coordinated with Russian agents to influence 2016, concluding there was no such evidence.

Taibbi found out that media outlets such NBC and CBS, ABC, PBS. CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Mother Jones cited alleged data about Russian disinformation from Hamilton 68. “hundreds if not thousands” Many occasions. He pointed out that outlets used the dashboard to discredit political figures such as Tulsi Gabbard Brett KavanaughBy linking them to purported disinformation operations.

Hamilton 68 was also mentioned by academics at Harvard University, Princeton University, and other postsecondary institutions such as Senator Dianne Feinstein (D–CA), Senator James Lankford(R-OK), or Rep. Adam Schiff.

Taibbi surprised social media users when he revealed that they were purveyors for Russian disinformation. Hamilton 68 List also implicated Dennis Michael Lynch and David Horowitz, a conservative writer. “a range of political dissidents, including leftists, anarchists, and humorists,” According to Taibbi.

Many were ordinary Americans unaware of their existence. “I am a 73-year-old snowbird in Florida,” One individual spoke. “Supposedly in a free world, we are being watched at many levels, by what we say online,” Another individual told Taibbi that she had been subject to political persecution in Lebanon and then moved to the West.

The Twitter Files is an initiative of independent journalists that was based on internal documents from Twitter CEO Elon Musk. Previous editions have shown federal law enforcement. policed content in the platform and asked executives for removal of certain posts. There were “an organized effort by representatives of the intelligence community” At “senior executives at news and social media companies,” According to Michael Shellenberger (journalist).