The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coordinated with major social media and technology companies to control information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines, according to internal agency communications obtained by America First Legal.
The communications, released after litigation over a Freedom of Information Act request, reveal the CDC flagged posts that it deemed as “misinformation” to social media companies and also coordinated with the companies to promote its own sites. The CDC routinely held meetings with the companies and even provided verbiage for the tech firms to use in the fight against supposed misinformation, a previously unrevealed level of coordination between the government agency and major tech companies to control information related to COVID-19. (RELATED: Former Trump Aide Unveils New Anti-Discrimination Program)
For instance, the CDC proactively flagged posts for tech companies, sending Twitter a chart showing posts that allegedly had misinformation and held “Be On the Look Out” meetings where the CDC could provide examples of what the government agency claimed was “misinformation,” according to internal agency emails. The agency also set up a back-door reporting system where officials could flag posts for Facebook as misinformation.
The CDC stated that the misinformation had the negative effect of “reducing vaccine acceptance.” The agency then sent Twitter recommended language involving the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), according to the documents, pointing out that a report to VAERS was not proof the vaccine caused an injury. The CDC encouraged Twitter to disseminate its messaging on the topic.
Twitter also told the CDC in an email that coordination to address what the CDC considered vaccine misinformation would be “tricky” due to upcoming Congressional testimony by the company’s then-CEO Jack Dorsey.
/1 🚨💉THREAD: AFL lawsuit has
revealed shocking documents from the CDC, revealing government
collusion with Big Tech to censor free
speech & promote Biden Admin
propaganda.Twitter & CDC collusion⤵️:
CDC sends Twitter officials a chart of tweets it deemed to be”misinformation” pic.twitter.com/W15Sz4XQMA
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) July 27, 2022
Facebook and the CDC also coordinated to address alleged misinformation, with the CDC sending links to the social media giant to posts that contained what the government agency called misinformation, according to the emails. Facebook also reportedly gave the CDC $15 million in advertising credits for the agency to use to promote its own content.
“This gift will be used by CDC’s COVID-19 response to support the agency’s messages on Facebook, and extend the reach of COVID-19-related Facebook content, including messages on vaccines, social distancing, travel, and other priority communication messages,” a CDC memo regarding the ads reads.
/1 🔔PART 2: AFL has uncovered collusion between the CDC and Big Tech to censor free speech regarding COVID-19.
Facebook & CDC collusion ⤵️:
Direct engagement between CDC officials & social media companies where CDC sends links to Facebook to flag those posts as disinformation pic.twitter.com/wrSW0MPRiw
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) July 28, 2022
Google and the CDC also worked together, with the technology company agreeing to promote the CDC’s vaccine page in search result, according to internal emails. The agency also coordinated fact-checking with Google to address “misinformation” about vaccines and “infodemiology.”
/1 📑 PART 3: AFL lawsuit has obtained documents revealing concrete evidence of collusion between the CDC & social media platforms to censor free speech.
Google & CDC collusion⤵️:
CDC requested that Google promote its new vaccine page in its search results. pic.twitter.com/FkUl2m6b9e
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) July 28, 2022
“These explosive smoking-gun documents, obtained as a result of America First Legal’s litigation against the Biden Administration, conclusively demonstrate that Big Tech has unlawfully colluded with the federal government to silence, censor, and suppress Americans’ free speech and violate their First Amendment rights,” America First Legal president Stephen Miller said in the statement.
The CDC also requested that Facebook not block state health department posts about vaccines that were being labeled as misinformation, according to internal communications.
“Government is expressly prohibited from censoring competing or dissenting viewpoints or from silencing its political opponents whether it does so directly or whether it uses an outside corporation to achieve its draconian, totalitarian ends,” Miller continued.
Twitter declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Google, Facebook, the White House and the CDC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the DCNF.
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