The most recent episode of “Twitter Flies” discusses the extent to which both external pressure and internal maneuvering had a role in Twitter’s decision to block former President Donald Trump in January 2021.
One day after the incursion into the Capitol, on January 7, 2021, former First Lady Michelle Obama sent out an angry tweet.
“Now is the time for Silicon Valley companies to stop enabling this monstrous behavior — and go even further than they have already by permanently banning this man from their platforms and putting in place policies to prevent their technologies from being used by the nation’s leaders to fuel insurrection,” she wrote in part of her statement.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) January 7, 2021
She also added, “And if we have any hope of improving this nation, now is the time for swift and serious consequences for the failure of leadership that led to yesterday’s shame.”
The message was noted by journalist Michael Shellenberger in the fourth “Twitter Files” release.
“But after the events of Jan 6, the internal and external pressure on Twitter CEO @jack grows. Former First Lady @michelleobama, tech journalist @karaswisher, @ADL, high-tech VC @ChrisSacca, and many others, publicly call on Twitter to permanently ban Trump,” he wrote.
But after the events of Jan 6, the internal and external pressure on Twitter CEO @jack grows.
Former First Lady @michelleobama , tech journalist @karaswisher , @ADL , high-tech VC @ChrisSacca , and many others, publicly call on Twitter to permanently ban Trump. pic.twitter.com/RzNj7WJReg
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) December 10, 2022
The series of tweets suggests Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was a bystander to what would follow.
“Dorsey was on vacation in French Polynesia the week of January 4-8, 2021,” Shellenberger tweeted, saying former Twitter Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth and former Head of Legal, Policy, & Trust Vijaya Gadde were the lead executives handling the question of whether to ban Trump after the events of Jan. 6.
In 2017, Roth tweeted that there were “ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.”
In April 2022, Roth told a colleague that his goal “is to drive change in the world,” which is why he decided not to become an academic. pic.twitter.com/1Bi7fNHfWP
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) December 10, 2022
For context, Shellenberger would reference a 2017 Roth tweet claiming there were “ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.”
According to Shellenberger, the data he had access to demonstrates that while Roth and others were attempting to have Trump permanently banned, Dorsey was concerned about adhering to Twitter’s standards.
Around 11:30 am PT, Roth DMs his colleagues with news that he is excited to share.
“GUESS WHAT,” he writes. “Jack just approved repeat offender for civic integrity.”
The new approach would create a system where five violations ("strikes") would result in permanent suspension. pic.twitter.com/F1KYqd1Xea
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) December 11, 2022
The messages examined by Shellenberger found only one instance of pushback, he tweeted.
"This might be an unpopular opinion but one off ad hoc decisions like this that don’t appear rooted in policy are imho a slippery slope… This now appears to be a fiat by an online platform CEO with a global presence that can gatekeep speech for the entire world…" pic.twitter.com/4pedmgY8pa
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) December 11, 2022
Elon Musk, the company’s new owner, has given Trump permission to rejoin Twitter and has reinstated his account with all of the posts from previous years. According to Trump, he will continue to use his Truth Social platform.
