SAN FRANCISCO — In response to a 2017 request from the Pentagon, Twitter saved on-line a community of accounts that the U.S. navy used to advance its pursuits within the Center East, based on inside firm emails that had been made public on Tuesday by The Intercept, a nonprofit publication.

A counterterrorism division at Twitter knew in regards to the association, however others didn’t, 5 folks with information of the matter stated. When it turned extra broadly recognized throughout the firm, executives rushed to undo it. However they struggled with whether or not to publicly disclose the military-run Twitter accounts, the folks stated.

Among the accounts had been eliminated, however others remained on-line for years. Twitter finally disclosed the U.S. affect marketing campaign this yr.

The state of affairs was uncommon as a result of Twitter usually removes and publicly discloses affect campaigns carried out by governments. Social media firms have taken a powerful line towards state-backed affect campaigns for the reason that 2016 U.S. presidential election, when Russia misused Twitter, Fb and Instagram to affect American voters. However on this case, Twitter’s transparency efforts moved slowly and the corporate confirmed deference to the U.S. authorities.

The inner paperwork revealed by The Intercept had been supplied by Twitter below its new proprietor, Elon Musk. Mr. Musk has made an archive of paperwork obtainable to pick out journalists to scrutinize the selections of the corporate’s earlier leaders. He didn’t reply to a request from The New York Occasions for entry to the information.

It’s unclear if Twitter, below Mr. Musk, will proceed revealing affect campaigns on its platform. The billionaire has laid off many staff who labored to detect international affect on Twitter and has questioned the extent of collaboration between the federal government and the corporate below its earlier administration.

Mr. Musk didn’t reply to a request for remark. A spokesman for U.S. Central Command declined to touch upon the matter.

The state of affairs started in 2017 when an official working with U.S. Central Command requested that Twitter confirm among the navy’s accounts, based on an inside firm electronic mail.

The accounts had been flagged by a Twitter system used to mechanically detect terrorist content material and weren’t simple to search out in searches. The Pentagon requested Twitter to “whitelist” the accounts, which might stop the automated instruments from flagging them and make them extra broadly seen on the platform. Twitter’s counterterrorism workforce complied, two folks accustomed to the matter stated.

Twitter executives turned conscious of the state of affairs when a member of the counterterrorism unit requested the broader safety workforce for assist with automating the whitelisting of the U.S. authorities accounts, three folks with information of the discussions stated. Stunned by the request, the safety workforce requested to evaluate the accounts, the folks stated.

Twitter permits governments to function accounts on its platform as long as the accounts clearly state who’s working them. Accounts that masquerade as civilians are forbidden. Among the accounts within the Pentagon’s 2017 request had been clearly labeled government-run, three individuals who participated in discussions stated, whereas others weren’t.

Twitter executives then eliminated among the navy accounts that weren’t clearly labeled, three folks concerned within the discussions stated.

However whereas the corporate often disclosed different state-backed affect campaigns in transparency reviews, executives hesitated on this case, the folks stated. Some feared they might violate nationwide safety legal guidelines by talking publicly in regards to the takedown of the marketing campaign, they stated.

Years later, some Twitter executives stated they’d conversations with the Protection Division about eradicating all the accounts and disclosing them, based on emails revealed by The Intercept.

“I believe having a deeper understanding of what’s going on will assist us make a greater choice,” Jim Baker, a lawyer for Twitter on the time, wrote in a 2020 electronic mail. He added that the accounts may be related to a navy operation that will be wound down and that “shutting them down unexpectedly might compromise different operations.”

In August, Twitter introduced that it had eliminated a number of accounts that promoted U.S. international coverage pursuits overseas, the primary time it had disclosed such a marketing campaign. Accounts linked to the marketing campaign had been additionally faraway from Fb, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Eric Schmitt and Ryan Mac contributed reporting.