Ukraine, FBI colluded in censorship – Twitter Files

Late this morning, journalist Aaron Maté revealed more Twitter Files evidence that Ukraine and the FBI colluded in censorship. This collusion began about a month after Russia launched its “Special Military Operation” against Ukraine.

Ukraine and FBI working together

According to Maté, in March 2022, an FBI Special Agent sent Twitter a list of accounts to ban. That list came from the Security Service of Ukraine, abbreviated SBU (for Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy). The SBU alleged that the accountholders acted “to disseminate disinformation and fake news to inaccurately reflect events in Ukraine.” They also implied that the accountholders were acting on behalf of the Russian Federation, if not under their direct orders.

The list included journalists – mainly Russian, but also American and Canadian, including that of Aaron Maté.

Today at 10:30 a.m. EDT, Mr. Maté dropped this thread:

Reaction to this thread included skepticism and concern – concern extending to Elon Musk’s professed commitment to free speech on Twitter. (Musk reiterated that commitment in his recent interview with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.)

Other users made reference to Missouri v. Biden, the largest censorship case to date. The plaintiffs alleged that Twitter, among other social media, was a State actor before Elon Musk bought it. Pre-trial hearings on that matter are already taking place.

Still other users referred to the case of Gonzalo Lira.

Lira, a U.S. citizen, is currently under arrest in Ukraine for criticizing that country’s government. In fact, SBU agents arrested him on May 1 of this year. His father charges that the American government has “shunned” him by reason of his opposition to Ukraine. Leftist organs like The Daily Beast have denounced him as a “Putin shill.”

Suggestions that this is right and proper?

But at least one user actually suggested that the FBI acted, and is acting, properly in this context.

The photographs in that tweet refer to two cases, from two different eras, of supposed collusion with Russia by American citizens. These include:

• Charles F. McGonigal, indicted in 2018 for money laundering, and
• Robert Hanssen, arrested in 2001 for espionage against the United States.

Mr. Hanssen (who died recently in prison) began as a spy for what was then the Soviet Union. Apparently, even after the Soviet Union fell, the former First Chief Directorate of the KGB, now known as the RVS, continued their relationship with him until 2001.

That suggestion is rare. Many more users suggest that the propaganda against Russia, extending back to the Soviet days, has worn thin.