Bari Weiss

2022 - 12 - 9

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Slate Magazine"

The Anti-Trans Hate Account That Bari Weiss Says Is Yet Another ... (Slate Magazine)

On Thursday night, the latest installment of what CEO Elon Musk has dubbed “the Twitter Files” was published on the social-media platform, this time with a ...

The declarations of this far-right troll that this is not what she intends are predictable, and not really worth giving credence to after the number of incidents linked to targets she chose. In the case of an account that has repeatedly been a driver of real-world violence, the decision to ban it permanently seems as if it should have been an easy call to make, even if Libs of TikTok never wrote the words “I want you to commit violence based on this information.” However, although Twitter has suspended Libs of TikTok several times, it remains active and no less likely than ever to be a driver of violence against the LGBTQ community and its allies. Libs of TikTok is a very bad Twitter account, one that consistently inflames the most extreme and violent elements on the right, who then act violently again and again. The account and its supporters vehemently insisted the bans were unfair, and [even threatened to sue Twitter](https://twitter.com/SethDillon/status/1575208173044219909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1575208173044219909%7Ctwgr%5Eba9c0cb4e2689a945cb6a8b9d42b46e66feb27b4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advocate.com%2Fnews%2F2022%2F9%2F29%2Ftwitter-suspends-libs-tiktok-while-account-owner-vows-legal-action) if it were ever permanently suspended from the site. Instead of seeking to end the violence directed at the targets she chooses, Raichik and Libs of TikTok are constantly toeing the line, attempting to stop short of what is officially considered either harassment or hate speech, and occasionally catching a ban when Twitter decides that line was crossed. Based on information [Weiss herself has shared](https://twitter.com/bariweiss/status/1601018810495995904), the company directed moderators never to take any action in regard to the high-profile account, instead elevating every issue to the highest levels of management. [Twitter’s](https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/hateful-conduct-policy) [policies](https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/abusive-behavior), which exist to curb harassment, violence, and hate speech, not opinions. However, the issues with Libs of TikTok and the Twitter Files are fundamentally not about anyone’s opinion on gender-affirming care, diversity in schools, or drag. The implication seems to be that platforms that seek to protect users from harassment and violence—which is what Libs of TikTok has repeatedly inspired—are engaging in anti-conservative bias when they do so. This group [includes](https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/extreme-anti-trans-activist-abigail-shrier-among-team-given-access-to-twitter-data-by-billionaire) opinion writer Abigail Shrier, who is best known for writing Irreversible Damage, a book opposing transition for female-assigned people on the grounds that an unproven social contagion is the root cause of transmasculine identities. Weiss contrasted the treatment of Libs of TikTok by Twitter with a post harassing Libs of TikTok using personally identifying information that was not taken down by Twitter staff, which seems to have been an error on Twitter’s part. Weiss, like fellow Twitter Files author [Matt Taibbi](https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1598822959866683394), was given access to internal documents of the company by its new owner in order to interrogate the content-moderation actions of Twitter’s leadership before Musk bought the company.

Bari Weiss Twitter Files Reveal 'Blacklisting' of Disfavored Content (Reason)

Twitter employees have indicated that shadow banning—at least by some definitions—is both real and common.

That's a very fraught proposition that would appear to justify an extreme amount of censorship. As a private company, Twitter was obviously within its rights to do this, but users also have the right to be furious. According to Weiss, previous Twitter Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth admitted in internal Slack conversations that "the hypothesis underlying much of what we've implemented is that if exposure to, e.g., misinformation directly causes harm, we should use remediations that reduce exposure, and limiting the spread/virality of content is a good way to do that." At no point did anyone at Twitter communicate to these individuals that their content was being limited in such a manner. Under this definition, it's crystal clear that Twitter engages in shadow banning. If shadow banning is defined as secretly making a user's content utterly undiscoverable, even by visiting his own page, then it's technically true that there is no shadow banning.

Liberals fume as Elon Musk gives independent journalist Bari Weiss ... (Fox News)

Critics took aim at Twitter owner Elon Musk and independent journalist Bari Weiss over a report that he has given her unprecedented access to the company's ...

New Twitter chief Elon Musk acted quickly to ‘exit’ Baker Tuesday." Over the weekend, while we both dealt with obstacles to new searches, it was @BariWeiss who discovered that the person in charge of releasing the files was someone named Jim. [OUSTED TWITTER COUNSEL JIM BAKER VETTED 'TWITTER FILES' WITHOUT ELON MUSK'S KNOWLEDGE, MATT TAIBBI REVEALS](https://www.foxnews.com/media/ousted-twitter-counsel-jim-baker-vetted-files-without-elon-musks-knowledge-matt-taibbi-reveals) "The news that Baker was reviewing the ‘Twitter files’ surprised everyone involved, to say the least. Taibbi explained, "The process for producing the ‘Twitter Files’ involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. [second installment of the "Twitter Files"](https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musks-second-installment-twitter-files-reveals-secret-blacklists-bari-weiss-reports) on Thursday, which revealed that Twitter took measures to shadow-ban users like Stanford University's Dr. Twitter's then-CEO Jack Dorsey admitted his companies actions were a mistake. [ELON MUSK'S SECOND INSTALLMENT OF ‘TWITTER FILES’ REVEALS ‘SECRET BLACKLISTS,' BARI WEISS REPORTS](https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musks-second-installment-twitter-files-reveals-secret-blacklists-bari-weiss-reports) View the scoops that follow accordingly," Georgetown Professor Don Moynihan slammed the journalist. the basest hackery." "It's extra ironic considering [Elon Musk] rails against ‘unethical journalism’ and yet this is as unethical as it comes." "Baker is a controversial figure.

Bari Weiss' Report Shows Systemic Secret Censorship of ... (The Maine Wire)

The second batch of the so-called “Twitter Files” released by Elon Musk to independent journalist Bari Weiss offers conclusive proof that the social media ...

But Twitter, even though it’s so influential for American news media, is but a small part of the online information ecosystem. If you were shadow banned, you’d never know that content you were producing wasn’t even being put in front of social media users who have freely chosen to see your content. If you’re like the majority of American adults, you don’t use Twitter.

Second installment of 'Twitter Files' released (The Wellsboro Gazette)

New reporting suggests that instead of outright banning accounts, Twitter took steps to hide them from wider view.

Twitter 'Shadow Bans' Compared to Elon Musk's Plan to 'Deboost ... (Newsweek)

The comparisons were made after former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss posted a thread about Twitter's so-called secret blacklists.

Writer Mig Greengard then quote-tweeted Feinberg's post, adding: "Of more interest ongoing, is the Musk team saying they won't use such 'secret lists' to deboost objectionable [shrugging emoji] posts and accounts? No doubt in my mind that many people and topics have been targeted already." Other Twitter users have pointed out that the social media giant has long been transparent about limiting certain content. Musk's tweet from last month stated: "New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach. Weiss's post featured photos of certain accounts that the social media platform had allegedly worked to stifle. You won't find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet."