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Latest Twitter Files tackle 'Great Covid-19 Lie Machine' flagging true content as 'disinformation'
The latest installment of the Twitter Files examined Stanford University's Virality Project meant to combat "disinformation" but in reality targeted COVID content that defied establishment narratives.
According to its website, the objective of the Virality Project, which was launched in May 2020, was "to detect, analyze, and respond to incidents of COVID-19 vaccine disinformation across online ecosystems, and ultimately mitigate the impact of narratives which would otherwise undermine the public’s confidence in the safety of these processes in the United States."
On Friday, independent journalist Matt Taibbi showed the project didn't exactly live up to its mission statement.
Taibbi began the Twitter Files by attacking what he called "The Great Covid-19 Lie Machine" by citing its weekly briefings, one from June 2021 saying Spring 2020 emails made public from Dr. Anthony Fauci about gain of function research being conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology "has been used to exacerbate distrust in Dr. Fauci and in US public health institutions" and will "foment Increased distrust in Fauci’s expert guidance."
Another briefing appeared dismissive of the lab-leak theory and sounded the alarm on "worrisome jokes" critics had made about the Biden administration's proposed door-to-door outreach efforts to boost vaccinations and any discussion about natural immunity.
"All were characterized as ‘potential violations’ or disinformation ‘events’ by the Virality Project, a sweeping, cross-platform effort to monitor billons [sic] of social media posts by Stanford University, federal agencies, and a slew of (often state-funded) NGOs," Taibbi reported.
As Taibbi noted, emails from the Virality Project were previously referred to in the Twitter Files, which panicked that "true content" about various side effects from COVID vaccines "might promote vaccine hesitancy." But Taibbi now reports that in 2021, the project "worked with government to launch a pan-industry monitoring plan for Covid-related content" across Twitter, Google and YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, TikTok and Pinterest.
"This story is important for two reasons. One, as Orwellian proof-of-concept, the Virality Project was a smash success. Government, academia, and an oligopoly of would-be corporate competitors organized quickly behind a secret, unified effort to control political messaging," Taibbi wrote. "Two, it accelerated the evolution of digital censorship, moving it from judging truth/untruth to a new, scarier model, openly focused on political narrative at the expense of fact."
Taibbi reported that Stanford University introduced Twitter to the Virality Project in February 2021, just days after President Biden's inauguration, first tackling "vaccine-related disinformation."
He quoted one email from the Virality Project combating the "vaccine passport narrative" and how concerns from critics at the time "have driven a larger anti-vaccination narrative about the loss of rights and freedoms," all falling under the project's category of "misinformation."
"VP routinely framed real testimonials about side effects as misinformation, from ‘true stories’ of blood clots from AstraZeneca vaccines to a New York Times story about vaccine recipients who contracted the blood disorder thrombocytopenia," Taibbi wrote.
Twitter quickly got in sync with the Virality Project. One email from Twitter in March 2021 showed it would "continue to track… misuse of official reporting tools and statistical data" and "campaigns against vaccine passports, inciting fears about mandatory immunizations."
The Virality Project objected to Sen. Ron Johnson's, R-Wisc., stance of "asking questions" about the safeness of COVID vaccines, claiming it's a "tactic commonly used by spreaders of misinformation" as well as the Worldwide Rally for Freedom protest that opposed COVID restrictions, classifying it as a "disinformation event."
It also flagged "known repeat offenders" like longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., suggesting his content is "almost always reportable."
In a June 2021, the Virality Project said it wanted to "hone in" on the "increasingly popular narrative about natural immunity." Two months prior, the project claimed breakthrough COVID infections of those who had gotten vaccinated are "extremely rare events," which it said does not mean that "vaccines are ineffective."
Months later, the project acknowledged "Breakthrough cases are happening."
The Twitter Files suggest the Virality Project may have encouraged Biden's DHS to establish the now-defunct Disinformation Governance Board.
On April 26, 2022, the project released a report calling for a "Misinformation and Disinformation Center of Excellence" to be installed at the DHS' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to "establish a rumor-control mechanism to address nationally trending narratives." The next day, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed a disinfo board had been created and would be led by the now-infamous Mary Poppins impersonator Nina Jankowicz.
"Even in its final report, VP claimed it was misinformation to suggest the vaccine does not prevent transmission, or that governments are planning to introduce vaccine passports. Both things turned out to be true," Taibbi wrote. "The Virality Project was specifically not based on ‘assertions of fact,’ but public submission to authority, acceptance of narrative, and pronouncements by figures like Anthony Fauci. The project's central/animating concept was, 'You can't handle the truth.'"
Among the government agencies the Virality Project reportedly collaborated with include the Office of the Surgeon General, the CDC, DHS’s CISA and the State Department's Global Engagement Center, which was also previously swept up in the Twitter Files.
"To recap: America’s information mission went from counterterrorism abroad, to stopping ‘foreign interference’ from reaching domestic audiences, to 80% domestic content, much of it true. The ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ is out; but truth-policing is not," Taibbi added.
注释：
flagging: adj
表示"衰弱的；萎靡的"，means "weak from exhaustion"，如： Is China's flagging economy as strong as an ox? 衰退中的中国经济依旧气壮如牛?
disinformation: n
表示"虚假信息; 故意的假情报"，means "misinformation that is deliberately disseminated in order to influence or confuse rivals (foreign enemies or business competitors etc.)"，如：And the same mix of disinformation, ridicule and smut would eventually be employed against the Japanese. 同样，假情报、嘲弄和淫秽一起都被用来对付日本人。
defy: v
表示" 藐视；挑衅"，means "resist or confront with resistance"，如： If you defy the law, you will be sent to prison. 如果你蔑视法律，你将被送入监狱。
narrative: n
表示"叙述"，means "a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; "，如： His adventure made an interesting narrative. 他的冒险是个有趣的故事
mitigate: v
表示" 减轻；缓和"，means "make less severe or harsh"，如： Her words mitigated my suffering. 她的话减轻了我的痛苦
Virology: n
表示" 病毒学"，means "the branch of medical science that studies viruses and viral diseases"，如： Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents. 病毒学是研究病毒和类病毒的学科。
exacerbate: n
表示" 加重(使 ... 恶化；激怒)"，means "make worse"，如： Scratching exacerbates a skin rash. 皮疹搔後会恶化。
foment: v
表示" 煽动"，means "try to stir up public opinion"，如： His word finally foment her hostility. 他的言词终于引发了她的敌意。
dismissive: adj
1. 表示"轻视的"，means "showing indifference or disregard;"，如： He signed his disapproval with a dismissive hand gesture. 他用轻蔑的手势表示他不同意。
2. 表示"表示拒绝或放弃的"，means "stopping to associate with"，如： Reviewers were dismissive, and the play closed within a week. 由于评论界持否定态度,该戏剧一周内被下架。
panick： v
表示" 使…惊慌；感到恐慌"，means "be overcome by a sudden fear;"，如：The thunder panicked the horse. 雷声使马受惊了。
hesitancy: n
表示" 犹豫；踌躇"，means "a feeling of diffidence and indecision about doing something"，如： Sickness and hesitancy go hand in hand.病痛与犹豫总是结伴同行的。
academia: n
表示" 学术界"，means "the academic world"，如： Views on this subject vary in China's academia. 对此,目前学术界在这个问题上存在一些不同的观点。
oligopoly: n
表示" 寡头"，means " a market in which control over the supply of a commodity is in the hands of a small number of producers and each one can influence prices and affect competitors"，如： However, under oligopoly where, only a few firms exist, collusion will be easily sustained.但是，在这种寡头市场结构下，由于厂商数目少，特别容易达成合谋。
censorship： n
表示" 检查制度"，means "counterintelligence achieved by banning or deleting any information of value to the enemy"，如：That country adopted press censorship. 那个国家采取了新闻检查制度。
testimonial: n
表示"证明书；感言"，means "recommendation letter"，如：Applicants for this post must send copies of three recent testimonials. 此职位的申请人必须检送三份最近的证明书。
contract： n; v
1. n表示"合同"，means "a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law"，如：They had set a term to the contract. 他们已给合同定了期限。
2. v表示"收缩"，means "squeeze or press together"，如： The heat contracted the woollen garment. 高温让羊毛衣缩小了
thrombocytopenia: n
表示" 血小板减少症"，means "a blood disease characterized by an abnormally small number of platelets in the blood"，如： At the time of consultation, advanced age, oliguria, hepatic failure, respiratory failure, sepsis, and thrombocytopenia were associated with mortality. 研究的同时发现，老年，少尿，肝衰竭，呼吸衰竭，败血症和血小板减少症与死亡率相关。
immunization: n
表示"免疫"，means "the act of making immune (especially by inoculation)"，如：Measles can be prevented by immunization at 1 year of age. 麻疹可以通过一岁进行免疫接种而得到预防。
hone: v
表示"磨练"，means "make perfect or complete"，如：They hone their skills in their everyday lives. 他们在日常生活中磨炼才能。
Allege: v
表示"宣称"，means "report or maintain"，如： So they alleged, but have they any proof? 他们是这样宣称的，但他们有证据吗？
impersonator
表示"冒名顶替者"，means "someone who (fraudulently) assumes the appearance of another"，如： The presidential impersonator has not been found. 总统的冒名顶替者尚未被找到。
pronouncement： n
表示"声明"，means "an authoritative declaration"，如： The mayor of the city gave a pronouncement on TV. 市长昨晚作了电视讲话。
中文简要说明：
自马斯克（Elon Musk）收购推特并且把全公司的数据、电子邮件备份提交给独立记者们后，推特档案门（Twitter Files）发布了第19集：新冠肺炎。独立记者泰比（Matt Taibibi）整理推特高层与政府的电子邮件往来和文件档案，让美国公众以及全网更进一步暸解美国联邦政府和大型科技公司，为了审查和欺骗美国公众以及全世界所付出的惊人代价。
综合独立记者泰比整理的数据以及《福斯新闻》报导，聚焦在史丹佛大学所建立的《病毒性计划》（Virality Project），获得了几乎所有大型社群媒体公司和联邦政府的支持。这个计划的目标是识别在社群媒体上任何发表有关新冠肺炎（COVID-19）的言论，进行言论控管，而这些言论是美国联邦政府不希望民众知道的。
当政府不喜欢的言论被识别出来时，社群媒体公司就会被政府要求要进行审查或限制该言论的可见度（透过算法），也就是让你贴了相关讨论或报导，但是别人实际上在河道上看不到。
在泰比的调查中，他发现了许多例子，即「病毒性计划」和政府人员对言论进行审查，仅管这些言论事实层面是正确的，而且不仅仅是后来被证实正确的言论，而是在进行言论管控前，所有参与行动的政府、学界、企业人员就已经知道是正确的。
拜登总统就职几天后首先解决「有关疫苗的讯息」泰比援引了《病毒性计划》寄出的一封电子邮件，打击「疫苗护照叙事」，以及当时批评者的担忧「已经引发了一个更大的反疫苗叙事，涉及个人权利和自由的损失」，都属于计划内所定义的「假信息」（False Information）范畴。
「病毒性计划常将有关疫苗副作用的真实证词，定义为假讯息，从阿斯特捷利康疫苗（AstraZeneca, AZ）的血栓真实案例到《纽约时报》（New York Times）的报导，该报导介绍了疫苗接种者罹患得血液疾病血小板减少性瘤，也被定义为假信息而被和谐。
除了AZ以外，如果社群网络用户、民众发布了任何可能让人们对mRNA疫苗（即辉瑞及莫德纳疫苗）感到犹豫的言论，就会被系统抓到视为审查的对象，这包括有关因接种疫苗而死亡的名人，或有关mRNA疫苗相关副作用的报导链接，以及「任何提出自然免疫力可能和疫苗一样有效」的人。此外，还包括那些认为「已接种疫苗的人仍然以相当高的机率感染病毒的人。」
当然，事到如今，即使是医疗机构现在也已经承认「自然免疫力的重要性」，「疫苗并不能预防传染」，而且，确实存在因新冠肺炎疫苗接种而引起的副作用。
泰比认为：这整个计划有2个重要的结果:
第一，作为奥韦尔式概念（Orwellian）的证明，《病毒性计划》是一个巨大的成功。政府、学术界和企业界可以很快就在一个秘密而统一的努力背后组织起来，以控制政治信息传播. 乔治·奥韦尔为（George Orwell）为著名小说《1984》作者，奥韦尔主义（Orwellism）指现代专制政权藉由严厉执行政治宣传、监视、故意提供虚假数据、否认事实，来达到洗脑作用。
第二，它加速了数字审查的进化，将其从判断真假转变为一种新的、更可怕的模式，公然专注于『政治叙事』而忽略事实.
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