Remember when every narrative, opinion, or news cycle was saturated with claims of Russian propaganda or ‘bots’? It was everywhere, particularly if it was associated with a conservative-leaning viewpoint or talking point.
However, like most story arcs involving the mainstream media, the truth comes with less of a thick Russian accent and more of a left-wing conspiracy to silence dissent among the masses. Sure, you might be thinking, “C’mon Kathleen, aren’t you being a bit of an alarmist?”
To which I would respond absolutely not; in fact, there is now proof that the mainstream media and even politicians fell for a prominent liberal think tank’s mission to silence the voices of Americans who dared to speak out against the Democratic Party’s narrative. Unfortunately, if you aren’t on Twitter, you probably don’t know about this story or how it affects your daily life.
When @elonmusk made necessary business changes at Twitter, the media reacted with hysterical melodrama: he was “starving” employees; the site was facing “imminent collapse.” But when Twitter Files exposed state censorship and Hamilton68 fraud, they react with defeaning silence.
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) January 30, 2023
The Situation
Substack writer and former contributing editor of The Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi, has been dropping knowledge bombs on the Twitter Files nonstop, attempting to prove the adage true that sunlight is the best disinfectant. His recent files dump focused on an advertised Russian bot tracking dashboard, Hamilton 68.
Hamilton 68 was the brainchild of former FBI special agent and MSNBC contributor Clint Watts. This ‘dashboard,’ which, to put it in layman’s terms, is basically just a list of accounts that was operated under the liberal think tank the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD).
The ASD has some interesting names on its advisory council, including:
Top Clinton administration adviser John Podesta
Obama administration CIA director Michael Morell
Former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul
Isn’t it fascinating how think tanks, the federal employment system, social media companies, and mainstream media outlets tend to be self-eating snakes just swallowing up, regurgitating, and repackaging the same old people into the same old positions of power, just with new titles?
So what did Hamilton 68 actually do?
Allegedly, to track down and expose Russian bots on Twitter, but the reality is quite another story.
Disingenuous response from Hamilton 68 regarding their fake claims of Russian interference https://t.co/RZc3j3jJql
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2023
RELATED: Understand This: So-Called ‘Journalists’ Love Censorship More Than Anything Else in the World
A Whole Lot of Bull
While the Hamilton 68 dashboard claimed to have compiled over 600 Russian bot accounts insisting based on this ‘evidence’ that widespread Russian penetration in social media spread disinformation, Twitter exec Yoel Roth knew better.
According to emails unearthed in the latest Twitter File dump, Mr. Roth, the now-former head of trust and safety for Twitter, said “I think we need to just call this out on the bullsh–.”
33.Twitter didn’t have the guts to out Hamilton 68 publicly but did try to speak to reporters off the record. “Reporters are chafing,” said Horne. “It’s like shouting into a void.” pic.twitter.com/aJEJvcOu47
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 27, 2023
What bull was he referring to?
“Hamilton dashboard falsely accuses a bunch of legitimate right-leaning accounts of being Russian bots,” admitted Roth.
“Virtually any conclusion drawn from it will take conversations in conservative circles on Twitter and accuse them of being Russian,” Roth continued to say in internal emails.
That’s right; this dashboard essentially participated in widespread fraud.
So why is this important news and why does it matter to you, the average American who is probably not on Twitter? Because Hamilton 68 dashboard was used to elevate ironically enough disinformation that you no doubt read and or heard.
Shame on Them
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, whether you are on Twitter or not, what happens on Twitter affects what news and information you are allowed to consume daily.
As Matt Taibbi put it, “What makes this an important story is the sheer scale of the news footprint left by Hamilton 68’s digital McCarthyism.”
Hamilton 68’s dashboard of lies was used by major news outlets as a trusted source from the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and MSNBC to push false accusations of Russian influence, from support for Brett Kavanaugh to smearing Tulsi Gabbard as a foreign asset.
“These stories about Russian bots influencing this or that politician had an enormous cultural and political impact over a course of years in America,” Taibbi explained.
Some prominent politicians used Hamilton 68 as a source to put pressure on other social media giants like Facebook, including Congressman Adam Schiff and Senator Diane Feinstein. So if Yoel Roth knew this organization was pushing false information, why didn’t he do anything?
If you think Hamilton 68 was bad, wait til you find out what else the money people behind it are funding
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) January 30, 2023
RELATED: Church Committee Chair Warned 48 Years Ago About CIA, FBI Controlling Information
Controlled by Fear
To give Roth some credit, he knew that what was happening with at least this particular situation was fundamentally wrong, and there is no way to argue that he was biased; he’s a pretty far-left thinker. He knew something needed to be done, as evidenced in the email correspondence discovered and unveiled by Taibbi.
“Real people need to know they’ve been unilaterally labeled Russian stooges without evidence or recourse,” said Roth.
So why didn’t he come forward with the truth? The same reason the weak don’t stand up to the powerful.
Then head of Twitter global policy communication Emily Horne warned Roth that “We have to be careful in how much we push back on ASD publicly.”
It’s interesting to note Ms. Horne is now a spokeswoman for the Biden administration’s National Security Council. So in one door, out another door, only to go in yet another door.
If you haven’t been paying attention, I’ll spell it out for you, the deep state that so many of us at one point used to roll our eyes at is alive and well and has fundamentally changed the face of how this country operates.
11. Hamilton 68 never released the list, claiming “the Russians will simply shut [the accounts] down.” All those reporters and TV personalities making claims about “Russian bots” never really knew what they were describing. pic.twitter.com/q89kuDPIIH
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 27, 2023
RELATED: Trump Demands Hearings, Subpoenas to Investigate If FBI Used Twitter to Sway Elections
Land of the Free?
While Hamilton 68 claimed to research and root out Russian propaganda bots, they were really silencing the free speech and dissent of American citizens.
“Hamilton 68 barely had any Russians,” Mr. Taibbi explained. “In fact, apart from a few RT accounts, it’s mostly full of ordinary Americans, Canadians, and British.”
This is what ‘they’ mean by content moderation. The left-wing machine doesn’t mean protecting children from pornographic content or curbing human trafficking, or drug solicitation. What they want to moderate is our civic discourse.
“It was a scam. Instead of tracking how ‘Russia’ influenced American attitudes, Hamilton 68 simply collected a handful of mostly real, mostly American accounts, and described their organic conversations as Russian scheming,” Taibbi continued.
It’s funny how you won’t hear this described as harmful disinformation. No, this is called protecting democracy, even though what it did and continues to do is erode democracy. The mainstream media will also keep playing its part as a puppet to the deep state, acting as a gatekeeper of what you are allowed to see and hear.
Still think you are living in a free country? It may be time to get on Twitter if you aren’t already if only to get a taste of the world that decides what is reported on and what isn’t.
I also think voters in the states that elected @MarkWarner, @SenatorLankford, @DianneFeinstein, and other politicians who promoted Hamilton 68’s work should explain themselves — very hard to believe they didn’t know.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 27, 2023
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