FBI Director Says Bureau Not Paying X for Content Moderation

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday said that the bureau no longer pays money to moderate content on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"I'm not aware of us paying money to moderate content there [X, formerly known as Twitter] or anywhere else," Wray stated during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, when asked about the FBI's financial involvement in social media content moderation.

Information released as part of the so-called Twitter Files, shared by reporters in coordination with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, revealed the FBI’s considerable influence over the company and alleged an organized effort by the US intelligence community to exert control over certain information, including the Hunter Biden laptop story.

The Twitter Files revealed frequent contact between the FBI and Twitter officials, including a high number of requests to take action on purported misinformation.

Wray on Tuesday stressed that the FBI does still communicate with social media companies, but he noted that all these interactions have undergone significant changes.

At the same hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed his department's meetings with social media companies do not involve instructing them to remove specific content.