Thursday’s CNN This Morning had a peculiar take on the Twitter Files and revelations into what went into the decision to block the New York Post story on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Not only was it alleged that the Twitter Files actually made Twitter look good, but it was also claimed that it was Elon Musk that was violating the spirit of free speech.
Against a chyron headline that read, “Culture War Theater,” co-host Poppy Harlow began by asking senior media reporter Oliver Darcy, “the Hunter Biden laptop and the New York Post story that squashed weeks ahead of the election. What has come out of the Twitter Files on that?”
Darcy began by reporting, “that Jack Dorsey admitted that suppressing the New York Post story was a mistake, so that he did, I think, last year.”
Beyond that, he also added that these things happen because of the nature of the business, “So, the Twitter Files, though, they really showed the-- I think the messy content moderation that was happening behind the scenes and I think we're seeing and it's probably no surprise but we're seeing that not everyone agrees, is on the same page when they're making these complex decisions.”
That conveniently ignores the mental gymnastics Twitter had to perform to justify the ban, but Darcy nevertheless continued, “I will say on this specific Twitter Files drop, I thought what was really noteworthy was Elon Musk’s handpicked reporter, Matt Tiabbi, said that there was no evidence of government involvement in trying to suppress this story and that was a big claim that Elon Musk had made earlier when he was hyping these Twitter Files. I think that's very important to point out here.”
There being no government involvement does not make Twitter look any better and if Darcy continued with Tiabbi’s reporting on that, he would’ve found that Tiabbi argued that makes Twitter look worse.
Later in the segment, host and 2022 Brian Stelter Memorial Award winner Don Lemon didn’t see what the big deal was, “I just feel like-- especially this whole Hunter Biden thing is like a Rorschach test for political-- like what side, what you believe politically. So, for me it doesn't interest me in that way.”
After some discussion about the legal guarantees of the First Amendment versus the spirit of free speech on private social media platforms, Darcy claimed, “And I think the problem here though is that Elon Musk is effectively serving as a gatekeeper for this information. He is not giving it to news rooms. He is giving it to handpicked journalists who are then agreeing to the condition, at least one condition of tweeting out the Files instead of posting them as news stories, so I think—”
This led Lemon to interrupt, “That’s not the spirit of free speech” as other voices around the table expressed their agreement. However, Lemon and Darcy is simply wrong. Even if Musk had given the materials to Darcy for a traditional news story, he would still be a “handpicked” journalist, just one that CNN approves of.
This segment was sponsored by BMW.
Here is a transcript for the December 15 show:
CNN This Morning
12/15/2022
8:29 AM ET
POPPY HARLOW: I would, though, like to begin with what I think is maybe the most talked about Twitter File. What are they called? Is that right?
DONIE O’SULLIVAN: The Twitter Files. Yeah.
HARLOW: The Twitter Files, the Hunter Biden laptop and the New York Post story that squashed weeks ahead of the election. What has come out of the Twitter Files on that?
OLIVER DARCY: Well, I think one, that we need to say that Jack Dorsey admitted that suppressing the New York Post story was a mistake, so that he did, I think, last year.
So, the Twitter Files, though, they really showed the-- I think the messy content moderation that was happening behind the scenes and I think we're seeing and it's probably no surprise but we're seeing that not everyone agrees, is on the same page when they're making these complex decisions.
I will say on this specific Twitter Files drop, I thought what was really noteworthy was Elon Musk’s handpicked reporter, Matt Tiabbi, said that there was no evidence of government involvement in trying to suppress this story and that was a big claim that Elon Musk had made earlier when he was hyping these Twitter Files. I think that's very important to point out here.
…
DON LEMON: They can set the rules that they want to set. I just feel like-- especially this whole Hunter Biden thing is like a Rorschach test for political-- like what side, what you believe politically. So, for me it doesn't interest me in that way, but that’s me being—I’m selfish in that way.
O’SULLIVAN: It is a private company and look, the First Amendment does not, you know—private companies are allowed to do what they want.
HARLOW: I hate the free speech debate over this.
O’SULLIVAN: Yes, but--
LEMON: Free speech is about government. It's not about Twitter
O’SULLIVAN: Exactly, no, 100 percent, so it doesn’t apply to Twitter.
HARLOW: Right, right, that’s what I’m saying.
O’SULLIVAN: But I think, you know, I think people in Silicon Valley, many of them are libertarians, I think many of us in the media would like to think the spirit of the First Amendment would apply to this platform because it has such a pivotal role as a town square and it has a such a pivotal role in political discourse whether we like it or not.
So, I do think that it is quite important there and remember, by the way when Trump got kicked off in those days after January 6th and lots of people were calling for that to happen, people were saying, “Twitter, what are you doing here?”
But, at the time, people like Angela Merkel, a spokesperson for her, who was no great fan of Trump said “look, this is actually a bit concerning” to see that a platform this powerful can kick off a president of the United States even if he has outlets elsewhere.
DARCY: And I think a lot of the Twitter Files, I mean more transparency is great. I think Donie and I would have loved to receive a cache of files exposing or revealing—
LEMON: I bet you would.
O’SULLIVAN: Our e-mails are out there, slide into our DMs, Elon with the files. Please.
DARCY: And I think the problem here though is that Elon Musk is effectively serving as a gatekeeper for this information. He is not giving it to news rooms. He is giving it to handpicked journalists who are then agreeing to the condition, at least one condition of tweeting out the Files instead of posting them as news stories so, I think—
LEMON: That’s not the spirit of free speech.
