News/Commentary

Chris Hayes gobsmacked that Republicans would want to hold a second hearing on Twitter’s censorship

March 4, 2023 | | Print Article

MSNBC host Chris Hayes simply can’t wrap his head around House Republicans daring to hold a second congressional hearing on Twitter’s content moderation policies that aimed to lock arms with intelligence agencies and censor conservatives.

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

Hayes appeared stunned during his interview with guest Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., who sits on the House Oversight Committee. She told him that House Republicans are planning to hold another hearing taking aim at Twitter’s squelching of free speech. In February, the GOP grilled former Twitter executives. Now they want more answers and Hayes is flabbergasted over the possibility.

Front and center is the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story that was silenced on the social media platform just before the 2020 election in an apparent effort to keep it from hurting President Biden’s election chances. The FBI informed Twitter at the time that the story could be part of a Russian disinformation campaign. That move by the intelligence agency has also put the FBI in Republicans’ crosshairs.

The media was complicit in the censorship as well. Hayes naturally turned to leftist Rolling Stone to make his point concerning the House’s interviews with FBI whistleblowers, who it claims “offered contradictory responses, maintained fringe and violent online presences that undermine their credibility, and failed to demonstrate first-hand knowledge of alleged FBI wrongdoing.”

He quoted one “anonymous” Republican as allegedly saying the investigation so far has been “very much amateur hour.”

“Do you agree with that assessment?” Hayes asked Plaskett knowing full well what her answer would be.

“I don’t want to call it amateur hour,” she replied. “The individuals who are in control of not just the committee, but that party, have an agenda that can come across as amateurish. But it’s really very detrimental to our republic.”

That’s when Plaskett theatrically shocked Hayes.

“We know that next week they want to have a discussion – once again – about the Twitter files, which we know in fact that Twitter had very much been used to support–” she began.

“Wait a second, wait a second – they’re doing another Twitter hearing?” Hayes interjected.

“Come on. You can’t make this stuff up,” Plaskett responded.

“No, are they really doing another Twitter hearing?” Hayes repeated as if he just could not believe it.

“Yes,” Plaskett responded.

“Get–you know what? My God,” Hayes replied, displaying his best “outraged” persona.

“Be prepared. Next Thursday. Get the popcorn ready,” Plaskett sarcastically stated.

“For those of us who are excessively online – and that includes myself, I’m ashamed to say – there’s an expression that people who are excessively online use, which is ‘Go touch grass.’ And I would say to the members of the Republican committee. Go take a walk outside. Just, Twitter is not the biggest problem in America right now,” the MSNBC propagandist admonished.

The House panel investigating the “weaponization” of the federal government will hear from the journalists given access to Twitter’s internal communications next week as it probes alleged collusion between social media companies and the executive branch.

Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger will testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government next Thursday, March 9, concerning their findings in the “Twitter Files,” according to the Washington Examiner. Twitter CEO Elon Musk handed over the communication logs to prominent writers shortly after he bought the social media giant and set them loose to investigate the censorship of users.

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