Twitter CEO Dorsey blames 'poor communication' in Biden story takedown, downplays Big Tech 'censorship' scandal

RT
Thu, 15 Oct 2020 01:53 UTC

© Reuters/Nati Harnik/Reuters/Toby Melville

Joe and Hunter Biden • Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has blamed "bad communication" and a "lack of context" in response to public outcry over his platform's censorship of a New York Post story on alleged backroom dealings of the Biden family.

"Our communication around our actions on the [New York Post] article was not great. And blocking URL sharing via tweet or DM with zero context as to why we're blocking: unacceptable," Dorsey tweeted on Wednesday, hours after Twitter began blacklisting the story.

In a thread explaining its actions posted around the same time, the company cited both its policies on "private information" and the "distribution of hacked material," alleging the Post article contained personal details obtained without permission, thereby violating its rules.

A number of conservative-leaning pundits have weighed in to challenge the rationale for suppressing the story, disputing that the information was obtained in a hack and insisting that "communication" was not the problem, but rather the company's censorious actions.

In addition to barring users from sharing the article in tweets and direct messages, Twitter also locked the Post's primary account, as well as that of White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who shared a screenshot of the story.

Despite the fevered efforts to bury the Post article by both Twitter and Facebook, some netizens argued the moves would only bring more attention to the story, a phenomenon known as the "Streisand effect."

Comment: More ramifications ensue as Twitter censors the government by blocking the link to GOP page on the CONGRESS website and subsequent responses from congress members:

After downplaying the censorship of links to a New York Post exposé on the Biden family's alleged murky business dealings, Twitter is still blocking links to the "unsafe" story, even ones posted by US lawmakers. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stepped in to clear the air, explaining that the article contained "hacked material," and was therefore in breach of Twitter's rules.

The Republicans of the House Judiciary Committee skirted the ban by placing the article on their official .gov website, telling followers to "Click, Share, and RT" the scandal-laden story. However, users trying to click the link were met on Thursday with a warning from Twitter, telling them that the link "may be unsafe."

Conservatives were outraged. "They aren't even hiding their bias anymore," the Judiciary Republicans tweeted. "This is an attack against conservatives." Rep. Mark Walker (R-North Carolina) called the link suppression "election interference."

Twitter reversed its ban later on Thursday morning, as the Judiciary Republicans' link worked as normal by then. A Twitter spokesman told the conservative Daily Caller that the decision to label the website "unsafe" was an "error."

Nevertheless, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee requested an emergency hearing on "Big Tech's repeated efforts to interfere in the 2020 election," before voters go to the polls. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), who sits on the Judiciary Committee, also called on Thursday for Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify on potential "campaign law violations."

Several senators took up the charge confronting Facebook and Twitter CEOs:

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley fired off separate letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey questioning the Silicon Valley titans' moves to limit the distribution of The Post's exclusive exposé detailing emails that indicate Hunter Biden introduced his father, Joe Biden, to a Ukrainian energy executive.

Meanwhile, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz sent a missive of his own to Dorsey, blasting Twitter's decision to block users from sharing the story "quite hypocritical given its willingness to allow users to share less well-sourced reporting critical of other candidates for public office. This can only be seen as an obvious and transparent attempt by Twitter to influence the upcoming presidential election."

Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, also spoke out, sending a letter to Zuckerberg, saying the platform's actions "raises questions about Facebook's commitment to free speech and free and fair elections." He demanded to know why and how Facebook had decided to reduce dissemination of The Post's report.

In his letter to Zuckerberg, Hawley charged that: "The seemingly selective nature of this public intervention suggests partiality on the part of Facebook. Your efforts to suppress the distribution of content revealing potentially unethical activity by a candidate for president raises a number of additional questions, to which I expect responses immediately."

Moreover, he asked why the company said publicly that the story was subject to fact-checking, given that such a statement could be "a reflection of Facebook's assessment of a news report's credibility."

Hawley said he wants to know whether Facebook has evidence that The Post's article contains "disinformation" or other inaccuracies and whether the company will disclose any such evidence. He also asked whether the Biden campaign or any of the former vice president's representatives had asked Facebook to "suppress" the story; and what steps the company had taken to make sure its employees' "political preferences don't influence decisions to suppress content."

The senator demanded to know how Twitter had determined that The Post's story was violating its policy on hacked materials and why the company had taken the "unprecedented action" to lock the news org's account. "I ask that you immediately answer these questions and provide the necessary justifications so that your users can feel confident that you are not seeking to influence the outcome of the presidential election with your content removal decisions."

Earlier, President Trump's campaign accused Facebook of trying to tip the 2020 election in Biden's favor. "Facebook is actively interfering in the election," the campaign tweeted. "Facebook is rigging the election for Joe Biden."

See also:
Checkmate: House Judiciary Committee Republicans republished New York Post story on their gov't website