Feds used Russian election interference fears to gain access to Twitter, influence policy

A new batch of Twitter Files released on Tuesday shows how Twitter succumbed to the intelligence community. Through the summer of 2017, Twitter was not seen as a main player in the spread of so-called Russian disinformation. This changed in October when the company was being held responsible as “one of Russia’s most potent weapons in its efforts to promote Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton,” with Clinton saying that it was "time for Twitter to stop dragging its heels and live up to the fact that its platform is being used as a tool for cyber-warfare."

Journalist Matt Taibbi dropped the new Twitter files, showing how the intelligence community used Russian election interference fears to gain access to Twitter and influence policy.

Following Clinton's comments that the platform was a hotbed for Russian disinformation, Twitter saw it appropriate to form a "Russia Task Force" to self-investigate, in what was likely a move to prove to Washington that they did not need external regulation.