Twitter Files so Far // (Scott Johnson).

I have been following the Twitter Files posted by Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger, Bari Weiss and David Zweig in a series Notes to the Twitter Files. Taibbi now has a set of capsule summaries for each of the 12 Twitter installments that have been posted so far at his TK News website on Substack. It is available in an accessible form. Many of Taibbi’s posts at TK News are behind a password. This one is not.

Taibbi makes a note in italics at the end of his summaries, promising that the post will be kept open and maintained “as necessary.” This could mean that Taibbi will continue to add capsule summaries to future Twitter Files installments. Elon Musk, the proprietor of the New Twitter and the man who would have no idea of all this, has teased us about the next installment. It will be Anthony Fauci’s turn.

The Twitter Files, in my opinion, is the most important story. It’s right alongside the dissolution of the southern border by the Biden administration. We owe Elon Musk the Twitter Files, as I said. We would be left to our own devices with speculation, inferences and rumor without him. We have the “ocular proof” because of him. This is because we all have fallen to “the coup that we never knew” over the past five year.

The Twitter Files in their original form are difficult to follow. I struggled to convey the essence of each installment after its release. Taibbi’s summaries can be very helpful in this regard. While there is no substitute to seeing them with your own eyes in person, Taibbi’s summary capsules can help us understand.

I have already stated in my notes that Twitter is not conducive for long-form journalism. An overview in narrative format with thesis statements, topic sentences and illustrative examples would be a good idea. This is the standard for long-form journalism.

It is regrettable that mainstream media have turned their backs on the Twitter Files for many reasons. It reminds me of Tom Wolfe’s description of the press being the hypocritical Victorian gentleman. The metaphorical gentleman has become a monster over the years. Lawrence Wright, a New Yorker journalist, could be a real asset.

It is worth taking a step back to see the bigger picture. The big picture from the 12 installments of Twitter Files thus far is this. Old Twitter became an adjunct to the federal government’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies in order to suppress stories that were not in line with their line. Twitter’s suppression by the New York Post of Hunter Biden laptop reporting is the most prominent case. However, it is only an illustration of Old Twitter’s modus operandi.

Part 12 of the Twitter Files covers Rep. Adam Schiff’s attempts to suppress the work by RealClearPolitics reporter Paul Sperry. Bruce Golding, New York Post, spoke with Sperry about his suspension from Twitter in this article (“Schiff’s chief of staff Patrick Boland didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment”)

Twitter’s role as an adjunct to the state was secret. Twitter didn’t tell us and we didn’t know. It was a platform for free speech. The Twitter Files provide a detailed look at the nature and growth of its servile relationship to the government. All agencies involved in this suppression program must be held accountable. There must be something done.

Musk must have taken the appropriate steps to end Old Twitter’s mode of operation. We might be able to get more clarity on this point and other details if we had a working media.