An investigation based on Twitter’s internal files shows the social networking giant secretly worked with the Pentagon to amplify propaganda about the US military activities in West Asia.
The recent investigation by Lee Fang, a reporter with The Intercept, said internal documents show Twitter secretly created a special “whitelist” exempting accounts run by US Central Command (CENTCOM) from spam and abuse flags, granting them greater visibility on the platform.
Twitter quietly introduced the feature in 2017 after US military officials asked the company to improve the visibility of 52 Arab language accounts used to “amplify certain messages,” it added.
The accounts were then used to run its online influence campaign abroad.
“The CENTCOM accounts on the list tweeted frequently about US military priorities in the Middle East, including promoting anti-Iran messages, promotion of the Saudi Arabia-US backed war in Yemen, and 'accurate' US drone strikes that claimed to only hit terrorists,” Fang revealed.
Fang said Twitter worked hand-in-hand with CENTCOM to give the US military blue check verification status.
Fang’s revelations are the latest in a series of Twitter internal documents and communications released by its new CEO Elon Musk.
The social media platform allowed fake accounts to push pro-US narratives despite pledging to shut down covert state-run influence campaigns.
Fang said Twitter worked with the Pentagon despite Twitter claiming for years that they “make concerted efforts to detect & thwart gov-backed platform manipulation.”
“But behind the scenes, Twitter gave approval & special protection to the US military’s online psychological influence ops,” Fang continued in his thread. “Despite the knowledge that Pentagon propaganda accounts used covert identities, Twitter did not suspend many for around 2 years or more. Some remain active.”
Fang said a Twitter official told him he felt "deceived by the covert shift."
“One Twitter official who spoke to me said he feels deceived by the covert shift. Still, many emails from throughout 2020 show that high-level Twitter executives were well aware of DoD’s [Department of Defence] vast network of fake accounts & covert propaganda and did not suspend the accounts,” Fang said.
“Still, many emails from throughout 2020 show that high-level Twitter executives were well aware of DoD’s vast network of fake accounts & covert propaganda and did not suspend the accounts.”
CENTCOM subsequently concealed its ownership of the accounts, Fang said, in some cases using fake profile pictures and bios to give the impression they were run by civilians in West Asia.
The social media company was aware of CENTCOM’s covert activity and tolerated the presence of the accounts on the platform until at least May 2022, Fang said. “For example, Twitter lawyer Jim Baker mused in a July 2020 email, about an upcoming DoD meeting, that the Pentagon used ‘poor tradecraft’ in setting up its network, and were seeking strategies for not exposing the accounts that are ‘linked to each other or to DoD or the USG.’”
The revelations are the latest in a series of stories based on internal company documents that Musk, who bought Twitter in October, shared with several journalists at non-mainstream publications.
Musk, one of the world’s richest men, says the release of the documents is an effort to boost transparency about the social media platform’s operations under previous management.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/12/21/694899/Twitter-Fang-Pentagon-CENTCOM
The prices of some life-saving medicines have soared to levels that are unaffordable for ordinary people in Venezuela as the United States has ramped up military presence in the Caribbean off Venezuela's coast, alongside escalating sanctions, blockades and military threats against the oil-rich South American nation since late August.
https://www.presstv.ir/default/Embeded/761400
At a northeastern suburb in the capital city Caracas, locals can still purchase most of the commonly used medicines at a major supermarket, where some antibiotics have been sold out, and some first-aid medicines and supplies have become too costly for ordinary residents.
"I'm here mainly to buy antibiotics. I have problems with my lungs. But I can't get all I want, such as vancomycin," said a resident named Alfonso.
"Recent tensions have affected the supplies and prices of drugs. The prices of cancer drugs, insulin drugs and albumin are very high, and most patients here cannot afford them," said Giovanna Gonzalez a ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is prepared to use military force to achieve the goals of its special military operation if Ukraine continues to delay peace talks.
During an inspection of a Russian armed forces command post on Saturday, Putin stressed that Moscow will not allow Kiev’s obstruction to prevent progress.
“If the Kiev authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means,” he said.
The Russian leader noted that the Ukrainian authorities are not moving toward a peaceful resolution, adding, “We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kiev regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully. I spoke about this a year ago in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Putin also received reports from Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and commanders of Russia’s “Centre” and “East” military groups.
Meanwhile, ...
