Tipsheet

The FBI's Response to the Twitter Files Is Not Going Over Well

As Matt covered, the FBI responded to revelations from the Twitter files that the federal law enforcement agency worked with the social media platform to categorize Hunter Biden's laptop as "Russian disinformation" by hurling accusations about "conspiracy theorists."

"The correspondence between the FBI and Twitter show nothing more than examples of our traditional, longstanding and ongoing federal government and private sector engagements, which involve numerous companies over multiple sectors and industries. As evidenced in the correspondence the FBI provides critical information to the private sector in an effort to allow them to protect themselves and their customers," the FBI released in a statement Wednesday. "The men and women of the FBI work every day to protect the American public,” the statement concluded. “It is unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the American public misinformation with the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency."

That response isn't going over well, especially among First Amendment advocates with deep concerns about the government using private companies to censor information. 

George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley is calling the FBI response "chilling."