A former Twitter senior policy official recounted being targeted and threatened after her identity was revealed in the “Twitter Files,” a series of tweets alleging government collusion at the company.
Despite her efforts to provide evidence to Congress, the narrative of social media bias against conservatives and undue government influence persisted.
The Supreme Court is now hearing a case on social media censorship. (Trending: Devastating News For Hunter Biden After Defying Subpoena)
The former employee emphasized the need for transparency and a bipartisan independent regulatory body to address these issues without risking lives and livelihoods.
“I knew that my identity and being the first person to speak on record about Twitter during the Trump era put a target on my back. But I had never imagined the publication of something like the Twitter Files. I also knew I could not escape being included, so as each installment was published, I sat attached to my phone, hitting the refresh button,” the former employee wrote.
“When my name and picture finally appeared, I was on my way home from a yoga class. I sat down on a park bench and opened Signal. With calm resolve yet shaky fingers, I messaged my lawyers a link to the tweet that purported to show I had lied to Congress.”
“Almost immediately, Twitter users began to call for me to be charged with perjury. With liberal usage of the N-word and homophobic slurs, they also said that I, along with my family, should be hanged for treason.”
“I got up from the bench and briskly finished my walk home. After I locked the door, I went and checked the go-bag that I had kept packed for exactly a moment like that. And then I followed the plan I had in place to leave my home.”
“At the time, I was advised it was best for me to not speak or attempt to defend myself. Rather, I waited for the Jan. 6 committee to release its findings. However, the nearly 900-page final report omitted most of the information drawn from my testimonies and the evidence I gave to Congress.”
“So when I was subpoenaed to participate during a hearing about the Twitter Files in February, I wanted the Real Twitter Files to be known. The evidence I presented to Congress showed that rather than the Biden administration attempting to exert undue influence on social media companies, it was the Trump administration that unsuccessfully attempted to tip the scale.”
“As my conversations with Congress uncovered, there are legitimate concerns about jawboning, or informal requests from the government to social media companies about content. There are also serious questions about how authoritarian regimes abuse social media take-down requests, especially as Trump runs for reelection, and platforms like X have started complying with government demands,” she later added.
“One need only to look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in India to see how a government can use its power to successfully assert undue pressure to censor content from social media companies.”
“Beginning to address these serious issues cannot come from the Twitter Files, recent congressional hearings about them or the cases before the Supreme Court. Rather, real transparency is needed into how social media companies have operated that can only continue to come as those of us who have done the work inside of those companies share evidence.”
“But we shouldn’t have to risk our lives and livelihoods to do so. We need the help of a bipartisan independent regulatory body with whistleblower protections to safely convene these conversations. Starting from these facts is essential. Relying on unproven theories, ideas, or political rhetoric threatens all of our freedoms,” she concluded.
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