On SiriusXM, Media Matters’ Andrew Lawrence explains how “there's nothing really there” in overhyped “Twitter Files”
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On SiriusXM, Media Matters’ Andrew Lawrence explains how “there's nothing really there” in overhyped “Twitter Files”
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From the December 12, 2022, edition of SiriusXM's SiriusXM Progress
JOHN FUGELSANG (HOST): This has been a really, really strange event of a lot of not altogether substantial information that hasn't told us much we don't know. It sort of seems like a scandal in a box where people who want to be offended will find something to be offended by. But what has been your take on these "Twitter File" threads that we've been seeing from Matt and from Bari Weiss?
ANDREW LAWRENCE (GUEST): Yeah. I mean, I think I have two main takeaways from this. And I think the first one is that like they're -- they're really isn't any there, there, as far as what the right wing is saying. I mean, what I've seen is a lot of conversations about a very difficult subject, which is content moderation, that's happening behind closed doors with these people who, they -- they're having long, thoughtful discussions and coming to a decision. And that happens in any company, but especially a social media company, you know?
I think my other big takeaway is that like this all started as an accusation from the right wing that Twitter management and the Democratic Party were in cahoots --
FUGELSANG: Yes.
LAWRENCE: -- to try to sway an election. And now, right now, what you have is this Twitter management in the form of Elon Musk and the right wing and the Republican Party trying to manufacture a scandal to sway an election. It's the exact thing that they're -- that they're saying that they're trying to stop is what they're actually doing right now. And it's very fascinating, but they're -- there's just nothing there and it's really, you know, these Twitter Files -- off of Twitter, I haven't seen anybody talk about them. I mean, it's just -- nobody cares, because there's nothing really there.