> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://goodoil.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Release of the Biden Laptop Censorship Docs - URL: https://goodoil.news/release-of-the-biden-laptop-censorship-docs/ - Published: 2022-12-05T00:30:00.000Z - Updated: 2022-12-04T00:44:24.000Z - Author: Guest Post - Tags: Censorship, Media, Technology, USA Politics, World Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-16 22:48 **Joseph Vazquez** [newsbusters.org](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/joseph-vazquez/2022/12/02/unleashed-twitter-owner-elon-musk-releases-hunter-biden?ref=goodoil.news) *Joseph is the MRC associate editor for Business & Free Speech America. He graduated summa cum laude with a BA in political science from The George Washington University in 2018\. His work has been featured on Drudge Report, Fox News, Fox Business, Breitbart, Life News, The Daily Wire, Bongino Report, the* Washington Times*,* Washington Examiner*, CBN News, Savage Nation and* The Mark Levin Show*. Follow Joseph on Twitter: [@JV3MRC](https://twitter.com/JV3MRC?ref=goodoil.news)* --- Twitter owner Elon Musk released damning documents exposing the extent of the platform’s efforts to squash the Hunter Biden laptop scandal first reported by the *New York Post*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/jesse-watters-primetime-07_00_30-pm.jpg) Journalist [Matt Taibbi](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi?ref=goodoil.news), who first [reported](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598826284477427713?s=20&t=%5Fgqtv1fe%5FFUUEdu6JbQr4Q&ref=goodoil.news) on the documents Dec 2, stated that they revealed how Twitter staff and executives over time found “more and more uses” for censorship tools. Specifically, per Taibbi, “Outsiders began petitioning the company to manipulate speech as well: first a little, then more often, then constantly.” In one snapshot dated Oct 24, 2020, Taibbi [stated](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598827602403160064?s=20&t=ImPmRSihujsiJ6JutkBrMA&ref=goodoil.news) that “\[b\]y 2020, requests from connected actors to delete tweets were routine. One executive would write to another: ‘More to review from the Biden team.’ The reply would come back: ‘Handled.’” Musk’s release of the documents put an even greater spotlight on the nefarious scheme by Twitter to interfere in the electoral process to help throw the election to then-candidate Joe Biden. MRC President [Brent Bozell](https://www.mrc.org/staff/l-brent-bozell-iii?ref=goodoil.news) praised Musk for making Twitter’s internal operations transparent to the American people at last: “Twitter sabotaged the 2020 elections. A big thank you to Elon Musk for releasing more information about this. The American people deserve to know the truth.” > 24\. “They just freelanced it,” is how one former employee characterized the decision. “Hacking was the excuse, but within a few hours, pretty much everyone realized that wasn’t going to hold. But no one had the guts to reverse it.” > > — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) [December 3, 2022](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598834373482070016?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=goodoil.news) With regards to the laptop scandal, the decision to censor the story reportedly went to the highest levels of Twitter leadership albeit [without the](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598843310042279936?s=20&t=0fzql4YGunrgS-nC0njrig&ref=goodoil.news) knowledge of former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. However, former Twitter legal executive Vijaya Gadde and former Twitter head of trust and safety Yoel Roth were both involved in the decision to censor the story. In one snapshot, Roth claimed that “the policy basis is hacked materials – though as discussed, this is an emerging situation where the facts remain unclear. Given the SEVERE risks here and lessons of 2016, we’re erring on the side of including a warning and preventing this content from being amplified”. This is especially concerning given Roth’s past statements of wantonly smearing President Donald Trump’s administration [as being staffed](https://twitter.com/yoyoel/status/823312771416588288?lang=en&ref=goodoil.news) by “nazis.” > The “you are not the right kind of feminist” backlash to yesterday’s marches has begun. Did we learn nothing from this election? > > — Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) [January 22, 2017](https://twitter.com/yoyoel/status/823312544425132033?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=goodoil.news) Taibbi reported [further](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598835411262279680?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news) that “‘\[b\]y this point “everyone knew this was fucked,’ said one former employee, but the response was essentially to err on the side of… continuing to err.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/fja0r6cwiagdwlk.jpg) Taibbi reported that the “hacked” materials policy basis sparked confusion amongst leadership and staff. Taibbi [said](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598834882414727168?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news): “Comms official Trenton Kennedy writes, ‘I’m struggling to understand the policy basis for marking \[the *New York Post* story\] as unsafe.’” In [addition](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598836068282814464?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news), “Former VP of Global Comms Brandon Borrman asks, ‘Can we truthfully claim that this is part of the policy?’” The policy basis for the censorship [reportedly](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598834373482070016?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news) didn’t hold weight as a serious decision: > ‘They just freelanced it,’ is how one former employee characterized the decision. ‘Hacking was the excuse, but within a few hours, pretty much everyone realized that wasn’t going to hold. But no one had the guts to reverse it.’ Taibbi even [said](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598831435288563712?s=20&t=0fzql4YGunrgS-nC0njrig&ref=goodoil.news) that Twitter’s decision to block transmission of the *Post* story via direct message was “a tool hitherto reserved for extreme cases, eg child pornography”. > 36.Twitter files continued: > “THE FIRST AMENDMENT ISN’T ABSOLUTE” > Szabo’s letter contains chilling passages relaying Democratic lawmakers’ attitudes. They want “more” moderation, and as for the Bill of Rights, it’s “not absolute” [pic.twitter.com/cWdNYIprp8](https://t.co/cWdNYIprp8?ref=goodoil.news) > > — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) [December 3, 2022](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598840927199469569?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=goodoil.news) In another [snapshot](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598828601268469760?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news) showing [an Oct 24, 2020 communication detailing](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598828601268469760?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news) “an additional report by the DNC”, an alleged tweet by conservative actor James Woods was listed. Taibbi [summarized](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598828601268469760?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news) that “\[c\]elebrities and unknowns alike could be removed or reviewed at the behest of a political party”. Taibbi [then noted](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598829996264390656?s=20&t=mz%5FM50dK3yQHY%5FScepS%5FiQ&ref=goodoil.news) that these open channels for political parties to leverage censorship requests overwhelmingly favored the left: > This system wasn’t balanced. It was based on contacts. Because Twitter was and is overwhelmingly staffed by people of one political orientation, there were more channels, more ways to complain, open to the left (well, Democrats) than the right. Musk [teased](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1598781280015073281?s=20&t=eX45GDrOW0nGdzy8y5W2WA&ref=goodoil.news) the release of the documents on Twitter before the release: “This will be awesome.” > 36.Twitter files continued: > “THE FIRST AMENDMENT ISN’T ABSOLUTE” > Szabo’s letter contains chilling passages relaying Democratic lawmakers’ attitudes. They want “more” moderation, and as for the Bill of Rights, it’s “not absolute” [pic.twitter.com/cWdNYIprp8](https://t.co/cWdNYIprp8?ref=goodoil.news) > > — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) [December 3, 2022](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598840927199469569?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=goodoil.news) MRC Free Speech America [published a comprehensive timeline](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/brian-bradley/2022/04/20/study-how-big-tech-tried-kill-hunter-biden-story?ref=goodoil.news) for how the censorship of the laptop scandal transpired on Big Tech platforms. MRC Free Speech America conducted [extensive analysis](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/joseph-vazquez/2022/04/21/protecting-president-big-tech-censors-biden-criticism?ref=goodoil.news) in April utilizing its unique CensorTrack database to reveal 646 examples of how far Big Tech went to protect President Joe Biden from his critics. The number included 140 documented cases of users – including lawmakers, organizations, news outlets and media personalities – censored on Twitter and other platforms for sharing anything related to the bombshell Hunter Biden laptop story. Twitter in particular locked the *Post’*s[account](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/kayla-sargent/2020/10/30/new-york-post-twitter-lock-reaches-seventeenth-day?ref=goodoil.news) for 17 days. In addition, Twitter [slapped](https://censortrack.org/case/house-judiciary?ref=goodoil.news) a “warning” label on the GOP House Judiciary Committee’s website for linking to the *New York Post* bombshell report. MRC Free Speech America’s [research](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/joseph-vazquez/2022/04/21/protecting-president-big-tech-censors-biden-criticism?ref=goodoil.news) on Big Tech platforms like Twitter protecting Biden was so influential that it was [cited](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.1.0.pdf?ref=goodoil.news) in an [ongoing lawsuit](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/catherine-salgado/2022/11/21/missouri-ag-45-plus-biden-officials-targeted-god?ref=goodoil.news) from Missouri and Louisiana against the Biden administration for allegedly colluding with Big Tech to censor Americans. MRC Free Speech America also demonstrated how Big Tech’s cancellation of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal [helped shift](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2020/11/24/special-report-stealing-presidency-2020?ref=goodoil.news) the 2020 election in Biden’s favour. A 2020 [MRC poll found ](https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2020/11/24/special-report-stealing-presidency-2020?ref=goodoil.news)that 45 per cent of President Joe Biden’s voters weren’t fully aware of the *Post* story precisely because Big Media and Big Tech whitewashed it. Had Americans been fully aware of the scandal, 9.4 per cent of Biden voters would have abandoned him, flipping all six of the swing states he won to former President Donald Trump, giving Trump a victorious 311 electoral votes. [If you enjoyed this article please share it using the share buttons at the top or bottom of the article.](#) [If you would like to access exclusive Member content or just remove the ads to make your reading experience more enjoyable click here to browse our Membership options.](https://thebfd.co.nz/subscription-plans/?ref=2)