From CIA To 'Trust & Safety': The Silicon Valley-US Intel Revolving Door Is Bigger Than You Thought
The US government's involvement in all forms of media is well known, and goes back to the 1940s.
And from the 'Twitter Files' - Elon Musk's release of thousands of internal documents which exposed the Censorship Industrial Complex, and the ongoing dot-connecting being done by independent journalists, we know that both the CIA and FBI have been meddling in content moderation.
But just how deep does this rabbit hole of narrative shaping and censorship go? Deep...
In a Saturday X thread, user 'Name Redacted' has compiled a stunning look at how career US intelligence personnel have infiltrated big tech:
1. 🧵Google & Meta function as extensions of the US Intelligence Community. With Jacqueline Lopour, Google's Head of Trust & Safety, and Aaron Berman, Meta's Head of Elections Content/Misinformation Policy, both being career CIA officers, it underscores the CIA's substantial… https://t.co/LdxZLGfekv pic.twitter.com/SpDlz5AGBj
— Name Redacted (@NameRedacted247) February 25, 2024
Unpacking the thread (as it cuts off above), 'Redacted' writes (emphasis ours):
Google & Meta function as extensions of the US Intelligence Community. With Jacqueline Lopour, Google's Head of Trust & Safety, and Aaron Berman, Meta's Head of Elections Content/Misinformation Policy, both being career CIA officers, it underscores the CIA's substantial control over online censorship.
Why is this CIA-Big Tech revolving door, where career CIA officers wield power to censor & decide what misinformation is, purposefully suppressed in the broader conversation about censorship?
Why are career CIA officers like Jacqueline Lopour & Nick Rossmann, who both have a history of spreading misinformation & promoting the RussiaGate conspiracy theory, now in senior roles in Trust & Safety at Google, deciding what is misinformation & overseeing content moderation?
The cumulative number of former Intelligence Community personnel hired by Meta & Google since 2018 is staggering. Before 2018, there were only a handful. Here are the combined hires by both companies:
CIA-36
FBI-68
NSA-44
DHS/CISA-68
State Dept-86
DOD-121
Continued:
Why would Google specifically choose these six senior executives to attend an @ISF_OSAC
event in DC?
Everyone in this picture, alongside former CIA Director Robert Gates, is a current senior executive at Google & a former career CIA officer, except for the attorney from Perkins Coie (2nd from the left):
3. Jacqueline Lopour spent 10 years at the CIA before joining Google in 2017. She is currently Head of Trust & Safety, where she not only determines what constitutes misinformation but also wields considerable power in content moderation on Search & YouTube.
— Name Redacted (@NameRedacted247) February 25, 2024
In this interview,… pic.twitter.com/JbWTfQi5ad
Jacqueline Lopour, a career CIA officer, played a significant role in developing various intelligence programs at Google & YouTube:
*Manages intel operations for violent extremism, misinformation, hate speech, etc.
*Led development of intelligence programs for global election analysis.
*Developed the “YouTube Intelligence Desk.”
*Developed Google’s first machine-learning threat detection & analysis program.
*Provided daily COVID-19 briefings to senior leadership at Google & YouTube CEO
In 2015, Lopour authored a rather bizarre article titled: “The best reason for Iran deal? The West will learn where to drop bombs.”
Nick Rossmann spent over 5 years at the CIA before joining Google in 2022 as Senior Manager of Trust & Safety. His activity on Twitter/X is troubling, especially considering his current position in content moderation.
Why does Nick Rossmann have a problem with white people?
Here are some examples of Rossmann’s unhinged behavior on Twitter/X (all archived):
Negative tweets about white people:
Hoping Trump voters cough on their grandparents (giving them COVID) & “get to rot”- archive.is/rppqw
Asking Trump if he is an agent of a foreign power - archive.vn/xi7t8
Calling Trump “a lunatic & a racist”, tagging Keith Olbermann & using the hashtag “Resist” - archive.vn/Pk5Kh
Calling anti-vaxxers Nazis & Confederates - archive.vn/YWMDD
Christopher Porter spent most of his professional career in the Intelligence Community. After 9 years at the CIA, he joined ODNI where he was Head of the IC Cyber Analysis Council leading a team of CIA, FBI, NSA & DOD regarding US elections.
While at the ODNI, he regularly briefed President Biden so it’s only natural that as of June 2022, he joined Google as Head of Threat Intelligence. Porter is also a member of the Atlantic Council
His LinkedIn bio states that he likes to talk about Russia & election security. LinkedIn- archive.is/pFOI2
Deborah Wituski joined Google in 2018 as Senior Director Global Intelligence. Her only prior work experience was 19 years at the CIA, where she was Chief of Staff to the Director. Wituski is a member of Council on Foreign Relations.
9. Now why would Deborah’s intelligence desk at Google be so concerned about Putin’s personal life or the innerworkings of the Kremlin?
— Name Redacted (@NameRedacted247) February 25, 2024
Full video for reference- https://t.co/iZJ1EyYTOv pic.twitter.com/CvDx7Ce0cC
Katherine Tobin joined Google in 2021. Her career path is like the others listed in this thread: after 6 years at Booz Allen Hamilton, she spent 4 years at the ODNI, followed by 4 years at the CIA, & then returned to the ODNI for another 3 years.
With over 10 years of experience in the Intelligence Community, Google was the obvious choice for her. On her LinkedIn bio, she states that her favorite problems to solve are promoting DEI
11. Katherine wrote a blog post on LinkedIn, sharing her transition from the CIA to the private sector titled “My New Mission: From Spying to Startups.”
— Name Redacted (@NameRedacted247) February 25, 2024
For anyone interested, here is her personal blog- https://t.co/FClvI77Qf7 pic.twitter.com/Dqqqa5nL0n
The thread continues with several more examples, while 'Name Redacted' says there are "over 100 more examples of individuals whose sole work history is within the Intelligence Community or career State Department diplomats.
Many of these individuals hold positions as content moderators and policy managers. Most of them joined Google/YouTube after 2018.
Is it merely a coincidence that censorship has increased aggressively since then?
Read the rest of the thread here (and consider giving Name Redacted a follow).
