In this instance, the former Twitter executive, Yoel Roth, is the truth’s shining knight. Former FBI counterintelligence official (and current MSNBC contributor) Clint Watts, headed the Hamilton 68 dashboard that was used by journalists. Watts even gave testimony before Congress about this dashboard tool. Plainly put, this was a disinformation operation meant to slander and libel leading Republicans. It was funded by the think tank, the Alliance for Securing Democracy {ASD}.
The ASD advisory council includes neoconservative writer Bill Kristol, former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, ex-Hillary for America chief John Podesta, and former heads or deputy heads of the CIA, NSA, and the Department of Homeland Security. Terms used by right-leaning accounts on Twitter such as; “deep state” or hashtags like #FireMcMaster, #SchumerShutdown, #WalkAway, #ReleaseTheMemo, #AlabamaSenateRace, and #ParklandShooting, among many others were labeled as Russian propaganda.
These people at the launch of Hamilton 68 made this claim; “Our analysis has linked 600 Twitter accounts to Russian influence activities online.” Yoel Roth saw this claim and ordered an investigation. The Twitter engineers reported to Yoel Roth that what was being claimed by the people behind Hamilton 68 was bogus.
Copied from Matt Taibbi’s tweet:
Yoel Roth wanted a confrontation. “My recommendation at this stage is an ultimatum: you release the list or we do,” he wrote.
However, there were internal concerns about taking on the politically connected Alliance for Securing Democracy.
26. I’m listed as a foreign bot?” said conservative media figure Dennis Michael Lynch. “As a proud taxpaying citizen, charitable family man, and honest son of a U.S. Marine, I deserve better. We all do!” pic.twitter.com/HhKE9FPfpO
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 27, 2023
To see the sheer scope of this operation, review the entire tweet thread by Matt Taibbi.
In my opinion, those behind the Hamilton 68 dashboard board must be held accountable by either overt or covert actions.
Written by Mark Pullen on Matt Taibbi’s reporting from Twitter’s internal emails.