Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Wednesday, Mar 22, 2023

'Twitter Files' allege prominent right-wing figures were 'blacklisted'

'Twitter Files' allege prominent right-wing figures were 'blacklisted'

The Twitter Files, which appear to come directly from Elon Musk, feature detailed internal documents from the previous regime at Twitter, including internal messages and screenshots of administrator tools.

Twitter has been accused of secretly "blacklisting" prominent right-wing figures in the US in order to ensure they reached a smaller audience.

High-profile right-wing individuals - such as talk show host Dan Bongino, conservative activist Charlie Kirk and anti-lockdown campaigner Dr Jay Bhattacharya - were apparently demoted by Twitter staff before it was taken over by Elon Musk.

The "blacklists", which limited the visibility of accounts or prevented them from being featured in Twitter's list of trending topics, have been revealed as part of the so-called Twitter Files.

The Twitter Files, which appear to come directly from Musk, feature detailed internal documents from the previous regime at Twitter, including internal messages and screenshots of administrator tools.

They have been shared with a group of right-wing journalists who share Musk's views on free speech.

The controversial billionaire has described himself as a "free speech absolutist" fighting against a "woke mind-virus".


Elon Musk bought Twitter in October

How were right-wing figures 'blacklisted'?


The documents suggest Stanford's Dr Bhattacharya, one of a group of academics who argued 1COVID1-19 should be allowed to spread in order to develop herd immunity, was secretly placed on a "trends blacklist", which prevented his tweets from trending.

Right-wing talk show host Bongino was put on a "search blacklist," meaning his tweets would not appear in search results.

According to the report, which was published on Twitter, this practice was known internally at the company as "visibility filtering".

"Think about visibility filtering as being a way for us to suppress what people see to different levels. It's a very powerful tool," one senior Twitter employee told Bari Weiss, one of a group of journalists given wide-ranging access to Twitter's internal documentation.

Another Twitter engineer said: "We control visibility quite a bit. And we control the amplification of your content quite a bit. And normal people do not know how much we do."

Twitter had always denied secretly demoting certain accounts, a practice sometimes known as shadow banning.

In 2018, the site's head of legal policy and trust and head of product wrote a blog saying "we do not shadow ban".

"And we certainly don't shadow ban based on political viewpoints or ideology," they added.

However, the company openly acknowledged reducing the visibility of tweets in search and trending topics.

It also ranked tweets, a practice which included demoting "tweets from bad-faith actors who intend to manipulate or divide the conversation", a habit the blog implied was more common among right-wing figures.

How do other platforms operate?


The practice of "blacklisting" and "whitelisting" certain users is commonplace in social media and other internet businesses such as Google or YouTube, where they are used to make sure sites surface the most relevant content.

Indeed, Musk suggested that, under his control, Twitter would use a similar technique, promoting useful tweets and demoting "negative/hate" ones.

Yet, questions have been raised about the arbitrary way these demotions and promotions are carried out.

Just this week, the board which investigates Meta found celebrities, politicians and commercial partners were being given extra leeway to break the rules on Instagram and Facebook, a practice it described as causing "real harm".

"I hope (perhaps naively) that Musk has now set a precedent for greater transparency for future Twitter moderation and even moderation elsewhere on other platforms and news media," said Charlie Beckett, professor of media and communications at the London School of Economics.

Ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey


'Make everything public now'


However, although the Twitter Files purport to shed a light on this murky practice, they have been criticised for offering a partial, politically-motivated view of the real picture inside the company, designed to paint a favourable picture of Musk.

"If the goal is transparency to build trust, why not just release everything without filter and let people judge for themselves? Including all discussions around current and future actions? Make everything public now," former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey complained to Musk on Twitter.

Musk has promised that further revelations will be coming soon.

"Most important data was hidden (from you too) and some may have been deleted," he replied to Mr Dorsey, "but everything we find will be released".

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
Close
0:00
0:00
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Goldman Sachs cuts outlook for European bank debt over Credit Suisse crisis
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
The US government has charged Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with leading a $1 billion fraud scheme that cheated thousands of followers out of their money.
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
The BBC problem about China
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
"Will Fly Wherever International Law Allows": US Warns Russia After Drone Incident
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Announcing GPT-4
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
China is calling out the US, UK, and Australia on their submarine pact, claiming they are going further down a dangerous road
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Saudi Arabia has announced a major breakthrough in diplomacy with Iran after two years of intense talks
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Silicon Valley Bank: Struggles Threaten Tech Startup Ecosystem"
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
2 universities in Hong Kong embrace use of ChatGPT, other AI tools
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Missing Chinese banker was working to set up Singapore family office
Hong Kong ditches Covid mask mandate after 945 days
Xi Jinping and His Wife Meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
When it comes to Tesla vs Lamborghini, an empty vessel makes more noise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
North Korea test-fires an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan west of Hokkaido
US bombed Nord Stream gas pipelines, claims investigative journalist Seymour Hersh
US Joins 15 NATO Nations in Largest Space Data Collection Initiative in History
×