TWITTER FILES – The Russiagate Lies: The Fake Tale of Russian Bots

On Thursday, journalist Matt Taibbi released the 14th edition of the Twitter Files.

The latest edition is titled – ‘THE RUSSIAGATE LIES One: The Fake Tale of Russian Bots and the #ReleaseTheMemo Hashtag’

Read the thread below:

https://t.co/0PUOm212iv a crucial moment in a years-long furor, Democrats denounced a report about flaws in the Trump-Russia investigation, saying it was boosted by Russian “bots” and “trolls.”

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

4.Twitter warned politicians and media the not only lacked evidence, but had evidence the accounts weren’t Russian – and were roundly ignored.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

6.The Nunes assertions would virtually all be verified in a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in December 2019. pic.twitter.com/uLFHwbsiJe

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

9.On January 23rd, 2018, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) published an open letter saying the hashtag “gained the immediate attention and assistance of social media accounts linked to Russian influence operations.” pic.twitter.com/kOC3ab6mXS

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

10.Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal followed suit, publishing a letter saying, “We find it reprehensible that Russian agents have so eagerly manipulated innocent Americans.” pic.twitter.com/pwA1MAQ84t

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

12.The dashboard, which featured a crude picture of Vladimir Putin deviously blowing evil red Twitter birds into the atmosphere, was vague in how it reached its conclusions. pic.twitter.com/bSrfMfSVi6

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

14.“I encourage you to be skeptical of Hamilton 68’s take on this, which as far as I can tell is the only source for these stories,” said Global Policy Communications Chief (and future WH and NSC spokesperson) Emily Horne.

She added: “It’s a comms play for ASD.” pic.twitter.com/PZRZC51K7f

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

16.“If ASD isn’t going to fact-check with us, we should feel free to correct the record on their work,” said Policy VP Carlos Monje. pic.twitter.com/fwGgTYt7SN

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

18.“We investigated, found that engagement as overwhelmingly organic, and driven by VITs” – Very Important Tweeters, including Wikileaks and congressman Steve King. pic.twitter.com/Q7Z9DrPWOR

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

20.When Twitter spoke to a Blumenthal staffer, they tried to “wave him off” because “we don’t believe these are bots.” pic.twitter.com/0VGdFRkkOi

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

https://t.co/W7riHUVMyn Twitter exec even tried to negotiate, implying an undisclosed future PR concession if Blumenthal would lay off on this:

“It seems like there are other wins we could offer him.” pic.twitter.com/Kdf1EebXcV

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

24.Execs eventually grew frustrated over what they saw as a circular process – presented with claims of Russian activity, even when denied, led to more claims.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

26.Eventually Twitter staff realize “Blumenthal isn’t looking for real and nuanced solutions” but “just wants to get credit for pushing us further.” pic.twitter.com/GbMvgeLH6g

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

https://t.co/eOqNK7yE15 the story, if you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk, which will lead to a wave of other exhausting requests, at the end of which he’ll want a glass of milk. And one more cookie. pic.twitter.com/ySlFfzGt1y

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

30.Despite universal internal conviction that there were no Russians in the story, Twitter went on to follow a slavish pattern of not challenging Russia claims on the record.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

https://t.co/OlWGsft3ut a result, reporters from the AP to Politico to NBC to Rolling Stone continued to hammer the “Russian bots” theme, despite a total lack of evidence. pic.twitter.com/4oPFHjJ4Rh

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

https://t.co/w6GmX8wQMw #SchumerShutdown and #ReleaseTheMemo, the internal guidance was, “Both hashtags appear to be organically trending.” pic.twitter.com/6z5OMelLtZ

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

36.The staffs of Feinstein, Schiff, and Blumenthal also declined comment.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

38.This #ReleaseTheMemo episode is just one of many in the #TwitterFiles. The Russiagate scandal was built on the craven dishonesty of politicians and reporters, who for years ignored the absence of data to fictional scare headlines.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

40.Twitter had no editorial input on this story. Searches were carried out by third parties, so the documents could be limited.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023

Read the text version of the thread on Thread Reader.