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Elon Musk and Matt Taibbi start a debate over the release of Twitter files


On the surface, it’s a prime example of reporting: a journalist obtains internal documents from a large corporation that shed light on a political dispute that flared up in the dying days of the presidential race. 2020.

But when it comes to Elon Musk and Twitter, nothing is typical.

The so-called Twitter Profile, released Friday night by independent journalist Matt Taibbi, has sparked a firestorm among experts, media ethicists and lawmakers on both sides. It also provides a window into the fractured modern news landscape, where the reception of a story is often shaped by readers’ assumptions about the motives of both the reporter and the audience.

The headwinds began when Mr Musk teased the release of internal documents that he said would reveal the story behind Twitter’s decision to restrict posts that link to a New York Post report in 2020. about Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son, Hunter.

Mr. Musk, who has accused tech companies of censorship, then pointed readers to the account of Mr. Taibbi, an iconic journalist who shares some of Mr. Musk’s disdain for Mr. mainstream media. Published as a lengthy Twitter thread, Mr. Taibbi’s report included images of an email exchange between Twitter officials pondering how to handle the dissemination of the Post’s story on their platforms.

Mr. Musk and Mr. Taibbi see the exchanges as evidence of hierarchical censorship and the dangerous influence of libertarians. Many others – even some scathing Twitter critics – were less impressed, saying the exchanges only showed a group of executives seriously debating over how to deal with a newsletter. unconfirmed based on information from a stolen laptop.

And like many modern news stories, the Twitter File was quickly weaponized to cater to a dizzying number of pre-existing controversies.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who often accuses libertarians of stifling speech, issued a statement saying that “the documents show a systematic violation of the Amendment. the first case, the greatest example of that in modern history.” House Republicans, who have called for an investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings, insist there is no evidence the report suggests systematic collusion between Twitter and aides. of Joe Biden, who was then the Democratic nominee. (Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive officer at the time, later reverse decided to block the Post’s story and tell Congress it was a mistake.)

Former Twitter executives, who have lamented Musk’s chaotic management of the company, see the release of the document as another sign of recklessness. Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former director of trust and safety, said that releasing unedited documents — some of which included the names and email addresses of Twitter officials — was “a fundamental practice.” unacceptable” and put people “in danger”. (Mr Musk later said, in hindsight, “I think we should exclude some email addresses.”)

The central role of Mr. Taibbi, a divisive figure in the press, has caused an uproar of its own.

Once the main voice of the political left, Mr. Taibbi rose to prominence by presenting himself as an unobstructed truth-teller. He is perhaps best known for calling Goldman Sachs a “vampire squid” in an article that infuriated the public against Wall Street. But his commentary on former President Donald J. Trump differs from the views of many Democrats — he is skeptical, for example, of claims of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Mr Trump — and his fan base has changed.

On Friday, Mr Taibbi wrote that his thread about Twitter was “based on thousands of internal documents obtained by sources at Twitter.” Mr. Musk had previously hinted at disclosing information about how Hunter Biden’s report was handled on Twitter. On Friday, shortly before Mr Taibbi’s report, Mr Musk wrote, “This is going to be awesome,” and added a popcorn emoji, the popular online symbol of fervent anticipation. Mr Taibbi also said he had agreed “on certain conditions” in exchange for the documents, but did not provide details.

Mr. Taibbi skeptics have seized on what appears to be a staged revelation. “Imagine volunteering for online PR for the richest man in the world on a Friday night, catering to right-wing cynical and cynical stories, then pretending that you are telling the truth. true to power,” MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan wrote on Twitter the parcel.

Mr. Taibbi clapped his hands back on Saturday, write: “Look forward to going through all the tweets complaining about ‘PR for the world’s richest man’ and see how many of them have posted stories to anonymous sources at the FBI, CIA,… Five Corners, White House, etc.”

Mr Musk and Mr Taibbi did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Musk’s admiration for Mr. Taibbi, who left Rolling Stone to start writing newsletters on Substack, is not surprising; Mr. Musk often touts the virtues of citizen journalism. On Saturday, during a live audio session on Twitter, Mr. Musk said he was disappointed that many mainstream media had not taken up Mr. Taibbi’s report.

The New York Times requested a copy of the document from Mr. Musk, but did not receive a response.

Musk said on Saturday that he also gave the material to Bari Weiss, a former editor and columnist for The Times, whose Substack newsletter, Common Sense, touts itself as an alternative. for traditional news agencies. Ms Weiss declined to comment on Sunday.

The chaos has also produced some weird bedmates. Mr. Taibbi once compared former President George W. Bush to a “donkey”. On Sunday, his report was defended by the Republican leader in the House, Representative Kevin McCarthy, in an interview on Fox News. “They’re trying to discredit a truth-teller,” McCarthy said of Musk.

Perhaps the only thing widely accepted from the release of the Twitter File is the sentiment that Mr. Taibbi himself expressed, in a post. title on his Substack page provides a preview of his upcoming posts.

“Note to readers,” Mr. Taibbi wrote. “It’s about to get weird here.”

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