Twitter, rebranded to X since 2023,[1] is a Statesian microblogging and bourgeois social networking service managed by Twitter, Inc. and owned by billionaire Elon Musk. It has been used for censorship, psychological warfare, and promotion of pro-Western pro-capitalist colour revolutions.[2]
Twitter's own internal documents confirm that it promotes center-right neoliberal politicians and diminishes the voice of the left and far-left.[3] Its largest shareholder is Vanguard (10.37%) and among the largest include BlackRock (4.70%).[4] Since Musk bought the platform in October 2022, anti-Semitism, racism,[5] sexism, and transphobia have increased greatly.[6][1]
Censorship
Since 2021, Twitter has been partnering with Reuters (which is UK government-backed,[7][8] CIA-linked[9]) in order to censor alternative views such as those who oppose the false narrative of Russiagate.[10][11]
Twitter labels state-funded media accounts from Russia and China but not from the U.S., U.K., or France. It claims it doesn't allow ads from state media accounts but published dozens of ads from Voice of America, a state-funded U.S. propaganda outlet. These ads quoted speeches from Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo and called for regime change in Iran.[12]
Banned accounts
In 2020, Twitter banned 170,000 accounts that supported the Communist Party of China or supported China's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of accounts from Iran, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela have also been banned, including many non-government accounts.[12] In 2021, Twitter deleted dozens of accounts for "undermining faith in the NATO alliance."[13]
Imperialist connections
British government
Gordon MacMillan, Twitter's top executive for Middle East-related content, works for the British military's psychological warfare unit. The British government openly calls his work "information warfare."[12]
FBI
Twitter's senior director of product trust, Matthew W., worked at the FBI for 15 years. Douglas Turner, who worked as a SWAT Team leader and senior special agent now works in Twitter's security service. Senior program manager Jeff Carlton worked for the U.S. Marines, FBI, and CIA in Iraq and Korea. Other FBI agents working for Twitter include Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker, Senior Director of Strategy Dawn Burton, Director of Corporate Security Mark Jaroszewski, and Director of Corporate Resilience Karen Walsh.[13]
CIA
Police use the CIA-funded Dataminr company to track protests through a feed of Twitter posts.[6]
NSA
Twitter participates in the NSA's PRISM program, giving the NSA nearly unlimited access to communications and account information.[6]
Alternatives
In response to pro-imperialist censorship, alternative social media platforms become increasingly popular.[14] Mastodon is a FOSS alternative to Twitter.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Justin Horowitz (2023-9-27). "QAnon supporters, bigots, and white nationalists: Here are the far-right accounts Elon Musk is catering to following Twitter’s rebrand to X" MediaMatters. Retrieved 2023-12-2.
- ↑ Twitter Revolution: How the Arab Spring Was Helped By Social Media
- ↑ Ben Norton (2021-10-25). "Twitter admits its algorithm promotes right-wing politicians and media outlets" Substack.
- ↑ "Twitter Inc". CNN Business.
- ↑ Monica Moorehead, Shelley Ettinger. "Forces behind the escalation of anti-Semitism" Workers World. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chris Garaffa (2023-01-08). "What progressive people should know about the “Twitter Files”" Liberation News. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ↑ Britain secretly funded Reuters in 1960s and 1970s - documents
- ↑ Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat participated in covert UK Foreign Office-funded programs to “weaken Russia,” leaked docs reveal
- ↑ Reuters reporter Dawn Scalici, had previously served as a CIA agent for at least 33 years.
- ↑ Twitter partners with UK govt-backed, CIA-linked Reuters to censor alternative views
- ↑ Twitter relying on US/European gov-funded regime-change groups to crack down on foreign states
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Ben Norton (2020-08-10). "Twitter spreads paid US gov’t propaganda while falsely claiming it bans state media ads" The Grayzone. Archived from the original on 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Alan Macleod (2022-06-24). "The Federal Bureau of Tweets: Twitter is Hiring an Alarming Number of FBI Agents" Orinoco Tribune. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ↑ https://alternativeto.net/software/twitter/