Grab yer popcorn and take a seat as we present Matt Taibbi's latest 'Twitter Files Extra.'
As you read this keep in mind, RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA.
1. TWITTER FILES EXTRA
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
The Senate, New Knowledge, and Manufacturing Russian Bot Hysteria
Reporting by @SchmidtSue1 pic.twitter.com/o8BRNYDQ89
2. On December 17, 2018, a new report to the Senate Intelligence Committee describing pervasive Russian bot activity generated scare headlines by the dozen: pic.twitter.com/PusolurqIL
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Of course, the media was more than happy to follow along and help spread the hysteria. It's what they do best, ya' know.
And look at Mark Warner doing his part.
Gag.
3. Virginia Senator Mark Warner of the Senate Intelligence Committee called it a “bombshell”: pic.twitter.com/JUvPzgqHzy
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Bombshell.
TFG.
4. This was the peak of Russiagate panic. Stephen Colbert days later ran a feature about Robert Mueller rescuing Santa Claus – they were old “Nam” buddies, apparently – so they could deliver Donald Trump new orange “pajamas” for Christmas: pic.twitter.com/tMBoymTgQ8
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Classy.
5. Internally at Twitter, executives were calling BS on the Senate report, lead-authored by a firm called New Knowledge.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
“Nothing to see here,” wrote Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth. pic.twitter.com/4jBCOE1mF7
HA HA HA HA HA HA
6. Regarding accounts identified by NK as Russian, Roth wrote “may be spam, but nothing insidious,” and “don’t want to throw fire on the NK report by making anyone think they’re correct.” pic.twitter.com/Gq4cJ7ecaP
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
... nothing insidious.
BUT RUSSIA OUR DUDE!
7. Twitter knew what the public didn’t: the CEO of New Knowledge, Jonathon Morgan, helped design the infamous Hamilton 68 dashboard, which Roth called “bullshit.” pic.twitter.com/LyVUILhIH8
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Recommended
Aha.
8. Twitter’s Nick Pickles tied NK to Hamilton in describing its method: “They pick accounts that they have deemed to be IRA controlled, and then spin up bigger macro analysis of their activity.” pic.twitter.com/V2lNuQ7W7N
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Sounds like they were creating the problem they claimed already existed.
Funny how that always seems to be the case.
9. He added: “We have met with them several times and they have gone out of their way to avoid giving any meaningful insight into their methodology.” pic.twitter.com/8ZqmVB5yRq
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Shocker.
10. Two days after the Senate report, the New York Times reported New Knowledge had been caught faking the existence of Russian bots and linking them to Republican Roy Moore in an Alabama Senate Race. pic.twitter.com/MvrZWXF25W
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
11. Weeks later, it came out New Knowledge also ran a phony Facebook page boosting two campaigns to aid Democrat Doug Jones in the Alabama race. pic.twitter.com/iMCEsvz53p
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
12. The Alabama projects were engineered by former Obama administration official Mikey Dickerson, and funded by billionaire Reid Hoffman, who subsequently apologized. pic.twitter.com/5akEl4d9yp
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Somehow these roads always seem to lead back to Obama.
13. Reaction inside Twitter: “Pretty brutal for NK,” wrote Roth. pic.twitter.com/iqfczPmmkp
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
14. Pickles added the episode highlighted the “ongoing question of people who do this sort of work conflating basic spam issues with nefarious foreign influence.” pic.twitter.com/L4Jd54z7nX
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
15. He would later add that NK decided to “engage in their own info ops in a special election,” adding that another Senate author, Graphika, had been “over-stating the problem”: pic.twitter.com/eLCTfJFWcL
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
16. Former State Department official Daniel Fried said he hoped the Alabama incident would be “so scandalous and discredited that no one dares do it again,” adding “Putin’s ultimate victory” would be to “turn us into them.” https://t.co/zgKZ0RAtzU
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
We've got nothin'.
17. The Alabama/New Knowledge story was already public when NBC published a hit piece on then-presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard’s alleged Russia links citing New Knowledge as a source: pic.twitter.com/PE1a8qPZTj
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Good times.
18. The Senate Intel Committee has never fully answered questions about the methodology of its influential report - or about one of its author's ties to Hamilton 68. The episode also raises questions about news outlets who knew the Alabama story was coming but said nothing. pic.twitter.com/Z6EorxIjs3
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Democrats never fully answered questions?! GET OUTTA TOWN.
19. A spokesperson for Warner told @SchmidtSue1, the reports “speak for themselves” and the Committee “did not endorse” them, rather encouraging Americans to “draw their own conclusions.”
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Right.
20. Neither Roth nor Pickles responded to requests to discuss New Knowledge. DiResta and Morgan did not respond to interview requests.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) November 3, 2023
Shocker.
They didn't want to talk about any of this.
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