We know from the Twitter Files that the Biden administration had a heavy thumb on the social media platforms. You could be censored on Twitter 1.0 for questioning the COVID lab leak theory, for trying to share the Hunter Biden laptop story, or for calling Brian Stelter a "pansy." Judges even told President Joe Biden to lay off the censorship.
This is a lengthy thread, but it contains excerpts from Secretary of State Marco Rubio's interview with Mike Benz in which he reveals the shadow agency inside the State Department that existed to silence people on social media, in the name of election interference.
Marco Rubio’s Sec. of State interview went viral.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
He exposed a secret $50M shadow agency inside the State Department that tried to silence Americans...
Here’s what you should know (& how they tried to erase free speech): 🧵 pic.twitter.com/WlZypZau99
It all started innocently enough 10-15 years ago.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
The State Department created a program to counter terrorist messaging from al-Qaida and ISIS.
Who could argue with that?
But here's where it gets disturbing... pic.twitter.com/Yi4BPVc1pk
After the 2016 election, the program's focus shifted to targeting "foreign interference" in elections.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
By 2020, it had morphed into something far more sinister:
A government-funded operation targeting individual American voices. pic.twitter.com/yeELKXxBc7
The man running this operation?
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
Richard Stengel – who publicly claimed:
"Donald Trump talks just like a Russian spy, he talks just like a terrorist, and so do the people around him."
This wasn't just talk. They had a sophisticated system to silence opposition. pic.twitter.com/itimYgMK8P
Here's how the censorship machine worked:
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
The State Department funded supposedly "impartial" NGOs with taxpayer money.
These third-party groups then tagged American commentators and media outlets as "foreign agents."
But that was just the beginning...
The consequences were real and devastating.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
These weren't just labels – they led to Americans getting deplatformed and silenced online.
High-profile targets included Ben Shapiro and The Federalist.
But countless everyday citizens were also caught in the dragnet. pic.twitter.com/yJTXgR7BL6
Just when you think it couldn't get more shocking:
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
Before Trump took office, they didn't shut down the unit.
They simply renamed it and moved it elsewhere in the bureaucracy.
A classic government shell game to avoid accountability. pic.twitter.com/vpYRdF7iBS
Just like they did by renaming all of the DEI departments but keeping them in place.
The most disturbing part?
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
American taxpayers were unknowingly funding this censorship apparatus.
Your tax dollars were being used to silence fellow Americans for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Sec. Rubio's team has been quietly dismantling this system over recent months.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
They're documenting what happened for two critical reasons:
So those harmed can prove they were targeted to ensure it never happens again. pic.twitter.com/RZ7EmsQbLp
But that's not the end of the story.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
We're now facing an even bigger threat from abroad.
The European Union has become increasingly aggressive in censoring speech, including targeting Americans speaking about American issues.
Vice President J.D. Vance really hit a nerve at the Munich Security Conference when he called out the EU for the erosion of free speech.
A concrete example:
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
When Elon Musk hosted Donald Trump on X during the election season, EU officials threatened him with penalties.
This was two non-EU citizens, discussing American politics, being threatened by foreign censors.
The stakes couldn't be higher. pic.twitter.com/Nq0J8JcicC
Here's what's even more concerning:
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
The foreign censorship laws in places like the EU were partly shaped by the same ecosystem partners that were funded by the State Department.
It created a global censorship machine that's still operating. pic.twitter.com/Z9wWCkClSq
As you well know, if you've been reading Twitchy regularly.
The EU Digital Services Act now threatens Americans with fines for speech that would be protected under our First Amendment.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
They've already threatened a billion-dollar fine against X for "non-compliance with disinformation" standards. pic.twitter.com/UqV4NJod9E
In a stark shift from previous policy, Rubio has raised this issue directly with foreign leaders, including at a recent Oval Office meeting with the UK Prime Minister.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
The message:
Attacks on free expression undermine one of the core values that unite Western democracies. pic.twitter.com/IR40BLuHvZ
Just today, President Trump told U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to uncensor his social media platform Truth Social. Starmer responded, saying he’s not censoring anyone. No, you can say whatever you want, but you might go to prison for it. Just this weekend, we reported on the U.K. assembling "an elite team of police officers" to monitor social media for "anti-migrant sentiment" to "flag early signs of potential civil unrest."
The State Department is now refocusing on pro-American messaging and protecting free speech globally.
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
A complete reversal from the previous censorship approach that targeted Americans.
What's the lesson here?
— Nas (@Nas_tech_AI) July 27, 2025
As Rubio put it:
"Sometimes, some idea that starts out as innocuous or maybe even good intention can metastasize, becomes a weapon that can be turned into something else by someone else." pic.twitter.com/bZsVkj05H5
Who will be held accountable?
— John Adams (@JohnMichae16882) July 27, 2025
I guess what time will tell how this particular situation gets handled or if it gets handled at all.
— 🪡ONDER⚓️TRUTH🛡JUSTICE⚖️ (@Infinity2Ponder) July 28, 2025
The corruption runs deeper than I we thought. Surprised but not surprised.
— Common Sense (@djmart2000) July 28, 2025
Now that this was officially exposed, what's the next steps!?!
Defund. Shut it down. Make arrests. Do something.
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