Blacklist policies at Twitter

The second Twitter Files thread has finally dropped, after a delay that included flushing out and firing Jim Baker. This thread details a secret blacklist policy, its unwritten rules, who enforced it, and who fell victim to it. Tellingly, unlike the Hollywood Blacklist of the Fifties, those who enforced this blacklist never informed the targets. This, then, is the origin of the verb to shadowban. Franz Kafka (The Trial, Metamorphosis) would no doubt have enjoyed putting this into a novel. Except that we are the Josef Ks and the Gregor Samsas of this drama.

The Secret Blacklist Policy

Bari Weiss, founder and editor of The Free Press, released the story beginning at 7:20 p.m. EST (4:20 p.m. PST).

This thread mentions three prominent target names (Libs of TikTok, Dan Bongino, and Charlie Kirk) and one not-so-prominent one (Dr. Jay Bhattacharya). The tweets mentioning them have embedded screencaps of what look like moderational consoles. Note the settings: “Trends Blacklist,” “Search Blacklist,” and “Do Not Amplify.” And at Libs of TikTok:

Do Not Take Action on User Without Consulting With SIP-PES.

The particular speech Twitter sought so suppress included criticism of COVID lockdowns, and objections to child grooming.

Note also how high this policy went: to Yoel Roth, Vijaya Gadde’s immediate successor as Officer in Charge of Legal Policy, Trust and Safety. Matt Taibbi quoted this same Yoel Roth as referring to “actual Nazis in the [Trump] White House.” Yesterday the newsletter NewsHouse carried this article directly critical of Roth and his open advocacy of censorship.

Roth has also come in for direct criticism on Twitter itself, now that Elon Musk has apparently destroyed his regime. (Warning. The tweets below mention some highly family-unfriendly concepts. Parental judgment and discretion are advised.)

This tweet from Jordan Peterson is somewhat more family-friendly.

The NewsHouse piece reveals that Roth actually said that any criticism of gender switchers threatens. Their. Lives.

Reaction

Reactions to this secret blacklist policy vary from:

• Outrage, to
• “I told you so,” to
• “Ho, hum,” to
• “Oh, so it’s that again!” to
• “That’s a lie!” to
• “They had every right to do it,” to
• “You/they deserve what you/they got!” to
• “It happened to leftists, too!”

Here’s an exchange in the “You deserve it!” category.

Remember: Twitter quietly rescinded and literally deleted its “COVID Misleading Information Policy.” Now that Twitter is reinstating many more accounts (including Laura Loomer), those accounts will not be subject to that policy.

Nor has Elon Musk been lacking in attention. Last night he promised to update a user’s account status display to tell a user when such moderational action applies.

He also shared Vijaya Gadde’s denials,

Yoel Roth’s worst excesses,

an assurance that Twitter does not retain Perkins Coie as outside counsel,

and a promise to address an alleged continuation of a Trends Blacklist against Libs of TikTok.

The skeptics

But the reaction also includes skepticism. Why, for instance, does Elon Musk still refer to “hate speech?” What exactly will constitute it, moving forward? And why not disable these moderational tools now? Today? This instant?

Over on Telegram, Andrew Torba naturally weighed in:

Elon is dropping the Twitter files out one side of his mouth while bragging about how much they have shadowbanned “hate speech” out the other. Centrist “moderates” are unprincipled losers who cannot be trusted.

Recall that Andrew Torba defines “hate speech” as anything that violates U.S. federal or State law. Torba also boasted of new “tools” for Gab users that can detect shadowbanning elsewhere.

Torba has a business reason to refuse to give Elon Musk any credit. But perhaps the other skeptics should remember that Twitter is like a battleship, and can’t steer like a PT boat. The changes at Twitter are still an improvement, whether they represent perfection or not. Banned accounts are coming back. And the Twitter Files releases are far from ended.