Twitter Files by Matt Taibbi
Shares rank 28 of 60 articles by recommenders
People recommend it as a starting point for Matt Taibbi's award-winning reporting on Twitter's internal moderation. Critics call much of it overblown or discredited.
People recommend it as a starting point for Matt Taibbi's award-winning reporting on Twitter's internal moderation. Critics call much of it overblown or discredited.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good starting point for newcomers
“Go start with the Twitter Files as reported by Matt Taibbi.”
Comment from 6 Dec 2025 in “State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship'” “I'd tell you to check out the “Twitter Files””
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Nitter and XCancel receive cease and desist notices” “This is a good place to start”
Comment from 4 Nov 2025 in “Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether you press it or not” Reporting that angered many factions
“Bari Weiss and Matt Taibbi were both outcast from liberal media for their extensive reporting on it.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “TikTok users can't upload anti-ICE videos. The company blames tech issues” “His work has angered every political faction at one time or another.”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Paramount blacklists actors for pro-Palestinian activism”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Seen as a Musk PR campaign
“The Twitter Files was a failed PR campaign by Musk that tried to demonize Twitter and justify his leadership.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “X Just Accidentally Exposed a Covert Influence Network Targeting Americans” “you fell for the Twitter Files, which was... precisely that.”
Comment from 4 Nov 2025 in “Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether you press it or not”
Other articles people recommend
The four most recommended other articles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur | 32 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Ur-Fascismby Umberto Eco | 18 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Twitter Files by Matt TaibbiThis page | 6 | 4 | 60% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Some of the best reporting of the time was from Matt Taibbi, who won awards for his reporting”
“I'd tell you to check out the “Twitter Files””
“Bari Weiss and Matt Taibbi were both outcast from liberal media for their extensive reporting on it.”
“overblown, wrong, or subsequently thoroughly discredited”
“Go start with the Twitter Files as reported by Matt Taibbi.”
“The Twitter Files was a failed PR campaign by Musk that tried to demonize Twitter and justify his leadership.”
“The Twitter Files has to be one of the most direct tells for idiocy that humans have invented.”
“His work has angered every political faction at one time or another.”
“you fell for the Twitter Files, which was... precisely that.”
“This is a good place to start”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.