HYGO News Asked If Twitter Was Right to Censor the Hunter Laptop Story, Jean-Pierre: 'You Definitely Mischaracterized What I Said' (December 5, 2022)
Days after the first “Twitter Files” report on how the platform blocked the Hunter Biden laptop story, a reporter asked the White House whether it approved. “Is it the White House view that decisions at Twitter were made appropriately in terms of decisions to censor this reporting ahead of the election?” the reporter asked at the briefing on Dec. 5, 2022, according to the official White House transcript [1].
“Let me — you see — you mischaracterize, actually, what I — what I actually said, and took it out of context when you asked your question,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered [1].
“So, just want to clear that up because you definitely mischaracterized what I said or put it out of context. And so, can you ask your question again?” she said [1].
The video above shows the exchange at the Dec. 5, 2022, briefing. Quotes are from the official White House transcript and the official record of a House hearing [1][2].
”Which Decisions? By Whom?”
The reporter asked again. “My question was that you had said, I think, six or so days ago that the White House was watching closely the situation at Twitter after Elon Musk’s ownership of it with respect to misinformation,” the reporter said. “And because these files were released on the basis of, you know, hacked materials clause at Twitter, decisions were made to censor reporting leading up to the election.” [1]
“My question was: Is it the White House view that these decisions were made appropriately, in light of what has come out?” [1]
“Which decisions? By whom?” Jean-Pierre asked. “By Twitter,” the reporter said [1].
”Full of Old News”
Jean-Pierre attacked Musk instead. “So, look, we see this as a — an interesting or a coincidence, if I may, that he would so haphazardly — Twitter would so haphazardly push this distraction that is a — that is full of old news, if you think about it,” she said [1].
“And at the same time, Twitter is facing very real and very serious questions about the rising volume of anger, hate, and antisemitism on their platform, and how they’re letting it happen,” Jean-Pierre said [1].
“Look what is happening, it’s not — frankly, it’s not healthy. It won’t do anything to help a single American improve their lives. And so, look, this is a — we see this as interesting, you know, coincidence. And — and, you know, it’s a distraction,” she said [1].
She never said whether the censorship was appropriate [1].
”That Red Wave Never Happened”
Earlier in the briefing, Jean-Pierre took a victory lap on the midterms. “They want us to continue to fight for their freedoms. They want us to continue to fight for democracy. And, you know, that red wave never happened,” she said [1].
By the Numbers
- About 6: days earlier, the reporter said, the White House had said it was watching Twitter closely [1].
- 143 million: impressions on the first Twitter Files post about the laptop story, per Taibbi [2].
- 30 million: engagements on that post, per Taibbi [2].
- 10: books Taibbi said he has written [2].
What Happened Next
The Twitter Files reporters testified. Three months later, the journalists who reported the Twitter Files testified under oath. “My computer looked like a Vegas slot machine as just the first tweet about the blockage of the Hunter Biden laptop story registered 143 million impressions and 30 million engagements,” Matt Taibbi told the House Judiciary Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on March 9, 2023 [2].
Taibbi also answered the top Democrat on the panel, Del. Stacey Plaskett. “Ranking Member Plaskett, I’m not a so-called journalist. I have won the National Magazine Award, the I.F. Stone Award for independent journalism, and I’ve written 10 books, including four The New York Times bestsellers,” he said [2].
“What we found in the files was a sweeping effort to reverse that promise and use machine learning and other tools to turn the internet into an instrument of censorship and social control. Unfortunately, our own government appears to be playing a lead role,” Taibbi said [2].
“We saw the first hint of information communications between Twitter executives before the 2020 election, when we read things like, ‘flagged by DHS,’ or, ‘please see attached report from FBI for potential misinformation,’” he testified [2].
Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, opened the hearing with the FBI’s warnings to Twitter. “The government had no evidence of any intrusions, no evidence of hack and leak, yet for a year they tell Twitter that a hack and leak is coming, it’s coming in October, and it will involve Hunter Biden,” Jordan said [2].
“How did they know? How did they know? Maybe it’s because they had the laptop, and they had it for a year. They had the laptop, they knew it wasn’t hacked, but that’s not what they told Twitter,” he said [2].
Michael Shellenberger went further. “Today American taxpayers are unwittingly financing the growth and power of a censorship industrial complex run by America’s scientific and technological elite which endangers our liberties and democracy,” he testified [2].
For the Biden White House on a federal court order limiting its contacts with social media companies, see HYGO News’ page on July 5, 2023. For Jean-Pierre on Musk’s firing of Twitter lawyer Jim Baker four days later, see the page on Dec. 9, 2022.