Hunter Biden laptop controversy exposes greater issues on transparency and disinformation

House Republicans convened this Wednesday for a congressional hearing on Twitter’s alleged mishandling of a New York Post story on Hunter Biden weeks before the presidential election. The hearing called on three former Twitter executives in an attempt to establish accountability for ‘unfair collusion of government, Big Tech, and media to sway the election’. ISD’s Head of Public Affairs and Strategic Communications, Anthony DeAngelo, spoke with the Christian Science Monitor about the greater issue behind the younger Biden conspiracy, and how it is just another example of a severely conflicting understanding between both parties over what disinformation is and the real-world harms it may have.

“Actors from both sides of the political spectrum see the threat of disinformation differently. It’s important that those concerns – of free speech and the dangers of disinformation leading to offline violence – are weighed carefully and discussed openly.”

“[Congress] Members should maintain their focus on the very important discussion of how platforms like Twitter make decisions in the content they promote and demote. It’s bigger than one example, and advocating for transparency is something members from both parties can get behind.”

While GOP leaders were unable to produce evidence of the alleged collusion, the former Twitter execs did speak on general mishandlings and rule bending when it came to former President Donald Trump. The hearing raises greater concerns about ‘how social media companies interact with government requests,’ as outlined in The Hill.