Elon Musk Identifies ‘Worst Offender’ In U.S. Government Censorship

According to Twitter CEO Elon Musk, an “obscure agency” called the GEC (Global Engagement Center) is the worst offender in U.S. government censorship and media manipulation.

The worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation is an obscure agency called GEChttps://t.co/z6h5975anw

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2023

“They are a threat to our democracy,” Musk stated.

“That is the line they fed the media about me,” he added.

That is the line they fed the media about me

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2023

*Side note: The United States of America is NOT a democracy. We are a constitutional republic.*

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land.

However, the threat from agencies like the GEC is very real.

They threaten the inalienable rights of Americans by censoring freedom of speech.

Musk shared this Twitter thread from journalist Matt Taibbi to show how the GEC operated to censor Americans.

4.The GEC flagged accounts as “Russian personas and proxies” based on criteria like, “Describing the Coronavirus as an engineered bioweapon,” blaming “research conducted at the Wuhan institute,” and “attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA.” pic.twitter.com/a4xBotQZ2m

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

6.The GEC still led directly to news stories like the AFP’s headline, “Russia-linked disinformation campaign led to coronavirus alarm, US says,” and a Politico story about how “Russian, Chinese, Iranian Disinformation Narratives Echo One Another.” pic.twitter.com/iLEZVJ19rH

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

8.“WE’RE HAPPY TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOU ON THIS, INSTEAD OF NBC.” Roth tried in vain to convince outsider researchers like the Clemson lab to check with them before pushing stories about foreign interference to media. pic.twitter.com/AHg4DUbEql

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

10.When the State Department/GEC – remember this was 2020, during the Trump administration – wanted to publicize a list of 5,500 accounts it claimed would “amplify Chinese propaganda and disinformation” about COVID, Twitter analysts were beside themselves.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

12.Roth saw GEC’s move as an attempt by the GEC to use intel from other agencies to “insert themselves” into the content moderation club that included Twitter, Facebook, the FBI, DHS, and others: pic.twitter.com/h0AXfTswnI

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

14.The episode led to a rare public disagreement between Twitter and state officials: pic.twitter.com/iydnso8iuJ

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

16.Facebook, Google, and Twitter executives were united in opposition to GEC’s inclusion, with ostensible reasons including, “The GEC’s mandate for offensive IO to promote American interests.” pic.twitter.com/jvZxPYTIE6

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

18.After spending years rolling over for Democratic Party requests for “action” on “Russia-linked” accounts, Twitter was suddenly playing tough. Why? Because, as Roth put it, it would pose “major risks” to bring the GEC in, “especially as the election heats up.” pic.twitter.com/tAd6lVh2KH

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

20.Eventually the FBI argued, first to Facebook, for a compromise solution: other USG agencies could participate in the “industry” calls, but the FBI and DHS would act as sole “conduits.” pic.twitter.com/uJSFzqj52x

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

22."STATE… NSA, and CIA" Chan reassured him it would be a “one-way” channel, and “State/GEC, NSA, and CIA have expressed interest in being allowed on in listen mode only.” pic.twitter.com/A2AfD3GHA3

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

24.They eventually settled on an industry call via Signal. In an impressive display of operational security, Chan circulated private numbers of each company’s chief moderation officer in a Word Doc marked “Signal Phone Numbers,” subject-lined, “List of Numbers.” pic.twitter.com/5pTq7sfshh

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

26.Requests arrived and were escalated from all over: from Treasury, the NSA, virtually every state, the HHS, from the FBI and DHS, and more: pic.twitter.com/QYJBjPEJZW

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

28.“WE DON’T DO THIS” Even Twitter declined to honor Schiff’s request at the time. Sperry was later suspended, however. pic.twitter.com/9PX2Zw5Nzj

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

30.The GEC requests were what a former CIA staffer working at Twitter was referring to, when he said, “Our window on that is closing,” meaning they days when Twitter could say no to serious requests were over. pic.twitter.com/D0IrEgzC6e

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023

“DHS, CISA, and State Department (GEC) should not be involved in censoring American citizens,” independent citizen journalist Kanekoa The Great responded to Musk.

“And it would be illegal,” Musk replied.

And it would be illegal

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2023

The Global Engagement Center states on its website:

Mission: To direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations.

Vision: To be a data-driven body leading U.S. interagency efforts in proactively addressing foreign adversaries’ attempts to undermine U.S. interests using disinformation and propaganda.