One of the high-level Twitter executives who reportedly played “a key role” in the company’s decision to censor The Post’s bombshell story on Hunter Biden’s laptop has a long history of being accused of suppressing conservative voices.
Twitter’s former top lawyer Vijaya Gadde was singled out in an explosive Twitter thread on Friday by independent journalist Matt Taibbi, who purportedly obtained communications between top officials at the social media company in the wake of The Post’s October 2020 story on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop.
“The decision was made at the highest levels of the company, but without the knowledge of CEO Jack Dorsey, with former head of legal, policy and trust Vijaya Gadde playing a key role,” Taibbi wrote after reviewing internal company communications for a report he dubbed “The Twitter Files.”
Gadde has long been derided by conservatives as the company’s “chief censor.”
New Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk has criticized her in the past, accusing her of blocking The Post’s Hunter Biden coverage even before Friday’s revelations.
Catch up on Twitter’s censorship of The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story
- Happening now: Email found on Hunter’s laptop reveals Joe Biden named in 2017 message seeking China natural gas deal
- Our original report: Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad
- Editorial: Why has the public turned against “experts”? Twitter’s secret shadow bans show why
- Dorsey bows out: Musk warns Dorsey evidence of Twitter censorship “may have been deleted”
- Musk’s musings: Elon Musk: Twitter blacklisting proves “the inmates were running the asylum”
She was reportedly the main force behind the decision to permanently ban then-President Donald Trump from the platform after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The 48-year-old Gadde, who earned $17 million in salary at the company last year, broke down in tears in April when addressing colleagues about the future of Twitter once Musk moved to takeover the company.
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley pointed out on Twitter at the time that the tearful Gadde was “the same one who led the charge to censor the Hunter Biden laptop reporting. Says it all.”
Lara Cohen, Twitter’s then head of global partners, responded to the flood of online criticism against Gadde by accusing Musk of “misogyny.”
During her tenure, Gadde also reportedly presided over decisions to ban other right-wing figures from Twitter, such as provocateur Milo Yiannapolis and self-described journalist Charles “Chuck” Johnson.