Thread by @lhfang

1. TWITTER FILES - Saudi Arabia

Twitter Minimized Saudi Spy Infiltration, New Emails Show
Exclusive emails show Twitter executives downplayed the significance of a Saudi spy network operating within the company, an infiltration that allegedly led to the torture of dissidents.

2. After the Arab Spring brought unprecedented protest and public criticism of the Saudi Kingdom, the gov began a crackdown on social media.

The effort focused on Twitter, which is hugely popular in Saudi Arabia. SMAAT, a social media PR firm, helped bribe Twitter employees.

3. Ahmad Abouammo, a Twitter employee, accepted $300k in cash & a $40k luxury watch from Saudi agents. In exchange, he illicitly used Twitter's backend system to unmask anon accounts critical of Saudi's ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. Abouammo, records show, accessed 6,000 accounts.

4. The FBI finally cracks down on the spying ring and arrests Abouammo and the DOJ indicts others, including the Saudi founder of SMAAT.

Internally at Twitter, that posed a problem. SMAAT was a major partner, responsible for millions of dollars of Twitter ads & partnerships.

5. Emails I reviewed while visiting Twitter hq show that Twitter executives at the time worked to minimize the scandal, knowing full well about the spying ring and deep business ties.

Twitter attorney Sean Edgett noted the ad revenue from the spy leader & ties to Saudi gov.

6. Benjamin Ampen, another Twitter executive on the thread, noted the "close links between SMAAT and gov orgs/leaders in KSA," noting the need to "minimize" the situation and protect fallout from advertisers.

7. Many Twitter execs wanted even less disclosure. Yoel Roth encouraged not mentioning SMAAT in the company's public statement.

Sarah Personette, a VP at Twitter, suggested editing the statement to “originating in Saudi Arabia” instead of “connected with the Saudi government.”

8. The Twitter public disclosure, published the following month, concealed many critical details.

The "platform manipulation" was simply "originating in Saudi Arabia," the statement read. There was no mention of the spying ring the Twitter knew was central to the effort.

9. There are discrepancies with the disclosure. Internally, Twitter identified 93k accounts tied to SMAAT - leaders of the spy ring - yet the statement noted 88k.

Other email chains show that Twitter officials provided an easy path for SMAAT-tied accounts to be reinstated.

10. Human rights groups allege that the unmasking of anon Saudi accounts led directly to torture.

Twitter spies allegedly identified Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, an anon gov critic on social media. Police smashed his finger and taunted: "This is the hand you write and tweet with."

11. The effort relates to the murder of Khashoggi. The Twitter spying ring unmasked accounts tied to WaPo columnist's associates. Saud al-Qahtani, mastermind of the killing, coordinated w/the Twitter spies. SMAAT also mobilized its bot network to cover up the Khashoggi murder.

12. "That's part of what's so incredibly sad about the current state of political affairs,” said Andrea Prasow. “That this tool [Twitter] that people saw as a tool of free expression, a tool of organizing, a tool of liberation was turned into a tool of fear and detention."

13. These emails have never been made public before. I obtained them while visiting Twitter hq in Dec. & Jan. These emails were sent during the leadership of Jack Dorsey. Twitter/Musk had no input on my searches or my reporting & I made no agreements w/anyone at Twitter.

14. I previously used the TWITTER FILES to report on the Pentagon's fake account network, DHS censorship of American political speech during the 2020 election, and the pharmaceutical industry's efforts to censor/shape COVID-19 online discourse. This is my latest installment.

15. I'm now reporting independently on Substack. For much more about the Saudi spy network at Twitter and the company's efforts to minimize the scandal, please see my reported piece here. leefang.com/p/twitter-down…