(NewsReady.com) – Disinformation campaigns by foreign adversaries have become commonplace in American politics. Before the 2020 election, federal authorities warned about bad actors conducting those operations online, and they continued over the years. Though it’s a problem, the FBI has taken heat for flagging accounts on social media platforms. The agency’s director recently defended those actions.
On Tuesday, February 28, Fox News host Brett Baier’s interview with FBI Director Christopher Wray was released. During the sit-down, the host asked the director about the Twitter files. He wanted to know about the FBI’s relationship with Big Tech. Specifically, as it relates to Hunter Biden’s laptop and the way officials described it as disinformation to Twitter.
Wray: "The FBI is not in the business of being the truth police. We don't tell social media companies to censor anything." @BretBaier: "The Twitter files tell a different story… You're saying it doesn't happen but there's evidence it had." pic.twitter.com/f2D8TSLYhv
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 1, 2023
Wray responded to the television host by denying the FBI was censoring anyone. He claimed there was “an awful lot of confusion and important context missing” about the agency’s relationship with social media companies.
The director told Baier the FBI works with Big Tech to fight “child pornography, terrorists, and foreign intelligence services” targeting the US. When agents come across disinformation, Wray said they sent it to the social media companies so that they can “make their own decisions about” how they will handle the issue.
Wray deflected when asked about Hunter Biden’s laptop, claiming agents pay attention to where the information came from, not the content. Baier pointedly told the director the “Twitter files suggest something different.”
When Elon Musk took over at Twitter, he began releasing the company’s records. The files showed the FBI regularly flagged content. Though the federal agency did not remove it themselves, there are arguments that it was still a violation of the First Amendment because Twitter removed it at the request of federal authorities. The Constitution specifically protects people from government censorship — at least, it is supposed to protect them.
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