Twitter Files: From shadow ban to reach drop, know the dark secrets of Twitter revealed by Elon Musk

Soon after taking over social media platform Twitter in a multi-billion dollar deal, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has implemented a lot of changes in the functioning of the platform. Now, he has released a list of “dark secrets” called The Twitter Files.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk in assistance with independent journalists, released two installments of the ‘expose’ against Twitter, dubbing them The Twitter Files Part 1 and The Twitter Files 2.0, where revelations such as shadow banning and blacklisting on the platform were made.

Twitter Files Part 1

In the first installment of the Twitter Files, independent journalist Matt Taibbi posted a threat of tweets on the social networking platform, where revelations were made about Twitter’s internal exchange with the campaign team of US President Joe Biden during the 2020 US Elections. 

The revelations focused on claims that Twitter censored the story around President Biden’s son Hunter’s laptop, which was expected to kick up a major controversy.

According to The New York Post, Joe Biden was introduced to a top executive at a Ukrainian energy firm by Hunter while he was vice president. Less than a year later, Biden pressured Ukraine government officials to remove a prosecutor probing the energy firm. It also threw light on some alleged shady financial dealings of Hunter Biden.

Twitter Files 2.0

In the second installment of the revelations of the Twitter Files, independent journalist Bari Weiss claimed that many Twitter employees have resorted to shadow banning and secret blacklisting of some content creators to limit its reach and stop the spread of certain information.

Weiss said that shadow banning means that some content will be restricted without any notice by Twitter, which will drop its reach and limit the number of likes and retweets, making it seem invisible to the same. The same precedent is being followed with the process of secret blacklisting of certain members.

Further, Elon Musk also said that he will be revealing more “dark secrets” about Twitter and how the social media website operates. It is likely that the third edition of the Twitter Files will come soon.

READ | Twitter Files Part 1: What inside details were revealed in Elon Musk’s ‘expose’