Twitter Files latest release: Over 150 emails exchanged between FBI and Twitter Trust and Safety head

The latest installment of the “Twitter Files” in which Elon Musk is releasing deep-seeded documents from executives at Twitter before he accumulated the company is quite juicy. The sixth installment of the expose series reveals that between January of 2020 and November of 2022, over 150 emails were exchanged between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety head Yoel Roth.

In a multi-part series of tweets, journalist Matt Taibbi goes into further detail. One tweet reads: “The FBI’s social media-focused task force, known as FTIF, created in the wake of the 2016 election, swelled to 80 agents and corresponded with Twitter to identify alleged foreign influence and election tampering of all kinds.”

4. Between January 2020 and November 2022, there were over 150 emails between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022

Another states: “In an internal email from November 5, 2022, the FBI’s National Election Command Post, which compiles and sends on complaints, sent the SF field office a long list of accounts that “may warrant additional action.”

Taibbi added “a surprisingly high number are requests by the FBI for Twitter to take action on election misinformation even involving joke tweets from low-follower accounts.” As for the involvement of federal agencies, “Federal intelligence and law enforcement reach into Twitter included the Department of Homeland Security, which partnered with security contractors and think tanks to pressure Twitter to moderate content.”

Ad while “it’s no secret the government analyzes bulk data for all sorts of purposes, everything from tracking terror suspects to making economic forecasts” Taibbi tweeted, “The #TwitterFiles show something new: agencies like the FBI and DHS regularly sending social media content to Twitter through multiple entry points, pre-flagged for moderation.”

Taibbi noted “what stands out is the sheer quantity of reports from the government. Some are aggregated from public hotlines” and posted a Tweet from the FBI of El Paso which wrote: ‘Election day protocol for FBI Headquarters is to stand up a National Election Command Post which provides a centralized location for assessing election-related threats. Status reports and complaints are tracked. Have a tip send it to tips.fbi.gov or 915-832-5000.”