The One We've Been Waiting For: Twitter Files on COVID-19 Drops (2024)

ByBonchie |11:30 AM on December 26, 2022

The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

The One We've Been Waiting For: Twitter Files on COVID-19 Drops (1)

The revelations of past Twitter Files drops have been stunning, to say the least, with direct FBI involvement in the quashing of free speech being perhaps the biggest bombshell. The uncovering of corruption isn’t over yet, though. Not by a long shot.

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The next major installment is, for my money, the one we’ve been waiting for. Namely, it covers Twitter’s suppression of speech in regard to COVID-19, and there are some surprising reveals included. For example, the Trump administration didn’t have its hands clean in regard to coordinating with Twitter to combat “misinformation.”

5. Internal files at Twitter that I viewed while on assignment for @thefp showed that both the Trump and Biden administrations directly pressed Twitter executives to moderate the platform’s pandemic content according to their wishes.

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022

7. It wasn’t just Twitter. The meetings with the Trump White House were also attended by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others. pic.twitter.com/OgOrRxBBBW

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022

I may be a partisan, but I’m not a hack, and my consistent standard on “misinformation” has been that the government should not play a role in policing it. There’s simply too much that can happen as far as abuse of power and violations of the First Amendment to let politicians and bureaucrats touch that third rail. The Trump administration may have had good intentions, and their transgressions may have not been nearly as egregious, but it’s still disappointing to see that the former president played that game.

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Of course, Joe Biden took things much further.

9. In the summer of 2021, president Biden said social media companies were “killing people” for allowing vaccine misinformation. Berenson was suspended hours after Biden’s comments, and kicked off the platform the following month.

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022

12. Culbertson wrote that the Biden team was “very angry” that Twitter had not been more aggressive in deplatforming multiple accounts. They wanted Twitter to do more. pic.twitter.com/lZTQV3yKeZ

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022

As Zweig goes on to explain, Twitter eventually began to shape its moderation around official White House views. That meant suppressing or outright banning medical professionals who were sharing evidence-based views contrary to the “narrative” about things like natural immunity and mask efficacy. Much of that was done by bots which were trained via machine learning to spot certain words and phrases.

Further, moderation activities were outsourced to places like the Philippines where low-level workers were expected to adjudicate serious discussions about things like vaccine side effects. Obviously, that led to some very bad results if you value free speech, and in many cases, truth. Lastly, top executives at Twitter were setting the tone, both by giving the inputs for the AI and telling the moderation teams what to look for.

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Zweig goes on to give some examples of medical professionals who were suppressed or banned, with Dr. Martin Kulldorff being “Exhibit A.”

21. Internal emails show an “intent to action” by a moderator, saying Kulldorff’s tweet violated the company’s Covid-19 misinformation policy and claimed he shared “false information.” pic.twitter.com/lq9QOP8h27

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022

23. After Twitter took action, Kulldorff’s tweet was slapped with a “Misleading” label and all replies and likes were shut off, throttling the tweet’s ability to be seen and shared by many people, the ostensible core function of the platform: pic.twitter.com/Qa1HpaEray

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022

Oddly enough, I remember seeing that tweet from Kulldorff when he made it and being surprised that it got labeled misinformation. Natural immunity was not a new concept, and for someone to say that those possessing it didn’t need to rush out and get vaccinated should have not been controversial at all. Yet, because it clashed with the White House’s vaccination message, which was to jab every living human being, it was quickly suppressed and labeled as misinformation (falsely, mind you).

Here’s another example of a bot flagging a post and then a human upholding what should have been a reversed decision.

26. Internal records showed that a bot had flagged the tweet, and that it received many “tattles” (what the system amusingly called reports from users). That triggered a manual review by a human who– despite the tweet showing actual CDC data–nevertheless labeled it “Misleading”

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022

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Using the CDC’s own data to state an objective fact would get you suppressed under Twitter’s old regime if it went against the official narrative. That’s how committed they were to a certain set of talking points. That those talking points came directly from the government (namely, the White House and CDC) only makes things all the worse.

And to be sure, what I’ve highlighted here is just the tip of the iceberg. Zweig’s thread continues from there, and we haven’t even gotten the internal documents yet dealing with Dr. Anthony Fauci and his team’s intrusions. I’d suspect those are coming, and they are going to be telling. Stay tuned.

The One We've Been Waiting For: Twitter Files on COVID-19 Drops (2024)

FAQs

When did COVID start? ›

In 2020, life changed across the globe. Though initially discovered in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, COVID-19 entered the conversation in the U.S. in January 2020, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerted the nation of the outbreak abroad.

What did COVID do to social media? ›

Many physical activities were banned or shifted online. As a result, people spent more time on social media during the COVID-19 lockdown (Drouin et al., 2020), making social media mainstream channels that dominated information acquisition and social support (Cellini et al., 2020; Saud et al., 2020).

How do I get over Covid post? ›

How do I get rid of long COVID?
  1. Medication. Providers can treat certain symptoms and conditions, like cough, headaches, anxiety and depression with medication. ...
  2. Stellate ganglion block or olfactory retraining. ...
  3. Physical therapy. ...
  4. Pulmonary rehabilitation. ...
  5. Counseling.

How has COVID-19 affected businesses? ›

As the coronavirus pandemic shut down everyday commerce in 2020, businesses across the globe shifted focus, switching to remote work and in many cases offering new products, services and delivery methods to reach customers and maintain operations.

When was the peak of COVID? ›

COVID-19 cases and deaths initially peaked in late March and April, but after a brief reduction in June cases and deaths began rising again during July and continued to climb into early August. The US policy response is best characterized by its federalist, decentralized nature.

How many times have most people had COVID? ›

Most participants (203,735) had COVID-19 twice, but a small number (478) had it three times or more.

What is COVID-19 biggest impact? ›

Key takeaways: The COVID-19 pandemic killed nearly 16 million people worldwide in 2020 and 2021 and caused global life expectancy to decline by 1.6 years between 2019 and 2020.

What problem did COVID-19 cause? ›

Diseases caused or made worse by long COVID include migraine, lung disease, autoimmune disease and chronic kidney disease. Diseases that people may be diagnosed with due to long COVID include: Heart disease. Mood disorders.

How did COVID effect social life? ›

Because in-person events and interactions were limited during the pandemic, people missed out on these opportunities to develop social skills. While schools held classes remotely, children lost important time learning how to effectively relate with their peers and engage with authority figures like teachers.

Is COVID more mild in 2024? ›

In 2023-2024, more than 95% of those hospitalized with COVID had no record of receiving the latest vaccine. Many people are getting mild infections, due to the evolving variants and population immunity, Schaffner said.

What food is good for COVID? ›

Lean cuts of turkey, chicken, pork, or beef can provide your body with protein and several other nutrients. Chicken and beef also contain Omega-3 fatty acids, which help rid your body of excess inflammation.

How long ill with COVID 2024? ›

Most people feel better within a few weeks, but it can take longer to recover. For some people, it can be a more serious illness and their symptoms can last longer.

What industry was hit the hardest by COVID? ›

Every industry suffered job losses since the start of the pandemic. Within prominent industries of the top 100 metros, the accommodation and food services industry, which includes hotels, restaurants, and similar businesses,3 suffered most, with employment dropping to 86 percent of its pre-crisis levels.

What jobs are most affected by COVID? ›

Earnings
IndustryEmployment change, February–April 2020 (thousands)Average hourly earnings, February 2020
Financial activities-27936.85
Professional and business services-2,38734.43
Education and health services-2,84327.90
Leisure and hospitality-8,22416.90
10 more rows

When did the lockdown end in the US? ›

In the beginning of the COVID-19 US epidemic in March 2020, sweeping lockdowns and other aggressive measures were put in place and retained in many states until end of August of 2020; the ensuing economic downturn has led many to question the wisdom of the early COVID-19 policy measures in the US.

Why is COVID-19 called COVID-19? ›

The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to name the disease caused by the novel coronavirus "COVID-19" and refers to the virus that causes it as the "COVID-19 virus." CO for corona, VI for virus, D for disease, and 19 for the year the outbreak was first recognized, late in 2019.

How long does COVID-19 last? ›

On average, a mild to moderate COVID-19 infection lasts for 10 days. However, how quickly you bounce back from a COVID-19 infection depends on various factors, including your health before the infection, any underlying conditions you may have, and which variant of the virus you have contracted.

When did COVID vaccines start? ›

COVID-19 vaccines

Vaccines have gone through — and continue to go through — extensive safety monitoring. Millions of COVID-19 vaccines have been given since December 2020. Researchers at Mayo Clinic and other medical centers continue to study more vaccines that prevent COVID-19.

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