Beware the Censorship-Industrial Complex

Biden’s pressure campaign on Big Tech

In 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans about the military industrial complex — now, a judiciary committee is raising the alarm about the government’s Censorship-Industrial Complex.

The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government has issued a damning new report exposing the Biden administration’s censorship regime.

Led by committee chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), the authors of the 800-page report lay bare the pressure and coercion placed on social media giants Meta (parent company of Facebook), Alphabet (parent company of YouTube), and Amazon, to censor online content.

'Just got off [an] hour long call with [Senior Advisor to President Biden] Andy Slavitt. ... [H]e was outraged – not too strong of a word to describe his reaction – that we did not remove this post. ... I countered that removing content like that would represent a significant incursion into traditional boundaries of free expression in the US but he replied that the post was directly comparing Covid vaccines to asbestos poisoning in a way which demonstrably inhibits confidence in Covid vaccines amongst those the Biden Administration is trying to reach.'

— Sir Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, describing his efforts to explain the boundaries of the First Amendment to the Biden White House in April 2021.

It gives a behind-the-scenes picture of the months-long efforts in 2021 of the White House to censor political rivals and disfavored views.

According to the report, Jordan and other Committee members obtained internal emails and other government-incriminating documents from the companies on the receiving end of the White House's direct and indirect threats and commands.

The Committee issued dozens of subpoenas to Big Tech officials, government agencies, and relevant third parties to obtain what turned out to be "tens of thousands of documents illustrating the details of the Biden White House’s pressure campaign.”

The White House had also structured an online "backdoor" to deliver their diktats to Big Tech. It built an exclusive portal for people with government email addresses to contact tech staff directly, bypassing the route for ordinary citizens to complain about something.

Such was the pressure that during 2021, Facebook, YouTube, and Amazon all changed their content moderation policies to be aligned with the administration's narratives, particularly, at the time, its Covid propaganda.

FACEBOOK

The censorship campaign targeted information that did not violate Facebook's own company policies, but that nonetheless conflicted with the party line the White House was pushing.

In response to government exhortations to “do more” in early 2021, Facebook increased its censorship of information regarding the origin of the Covid virus and the lab leak theory to shape up to government expectations

Within a few months, it became clear that the White House had shifted focus from the lab leak theory to alleged vaccine misinformation, and Facebook censorship followed suit.

Under pressure, Facebook began censoring information about Americans’ personal experiences with the effects of the Covid vax, as well as related satire and memes.

Internal Facebook emails acquired by the Committee show that Facebook understood — or was made to understand — that the Biden White House wanted “negative information on, or opinions about, the vaccine” removed, as well as “humorous or satirical content that suggests the vaccine isn’t safe.”

The same set of emails also noted that “The Surgeon General wants us [Facebook] to remove true information about side effects.”

YOUTUBE

Internal emails at YouTube also showed a hand-in-glove relationship between Big Tech and Biden.

In spring 2021, according to the report, YouTube’s Public Policy team emailed YouTube’s Product team that it should brief the Biden White House, a move deemed “hugely beneficial” because the company was “seek[ing] to work closely with [the Biden] administration on multiple policy fronts.”

Throughout the summer, the White House continued to hound the video-sharing platform about its policies and stringent enforcement of them, often pressing why particular videos were not removed or otherwise downgraded.

By September 2021, YouTube fell into line, even supplicating the White House for “feedback" on a proposed new policy censoring "content that questioned the safety or efficacy of vaccines."

After the policy was announced, the White House privately praised the expanded censorship as a “great step.”

Again, the pressure imposed by the White House to adhere to certain standards superseded YouTube's own company policies.

AMAZON

On March 2, 2021, the White House emailed the Vice President of Public Policy at Amazon, asking to have "a discussion" regarding the “high levels of propaganda and misinformation and disinformation at Amazon.”

Immediately after the email outreach, Amazon insiders “accelerated its consideration of implementing a new policy that would disfavor anti-vaccine books,” according to the report.

One week after, Amazon hopped to it and implemented a new policy that added the “Do Not Promote” label for anti-vaccine books.

As with the other Big Tech companies, Amazon expedited policies for the government that did not violate its own company’s code of behavior.

The First Amendment

The First Amendment grants citizens the right to express and to hear a wide range of opinions and views. It was intended to ensure a free exchange of ideas — even if a partisan faction disagrees with them.

Jordan and his Committee's report exposes the Biden administration's violations against the First Amendment and on "the weaponization of the federal government against American citizens."

They indicate their investigation into how the Executive Branch worked with social media platforms to censor disfavored viewpoints in violation of the US Constitution "remains ongoing."

Closure

It's estimated that the number of Democrats who support censorship of the free press has risen from 40% in 2017 to 70% in 2024. The Dem's oft-repeated position is that to save Democracy we need more censorship.

Since the Dems also see Donald Trump's candidacy — and future presidency — as a threat to democracy, Jordan's report speaks to the White House predictably flexing its censorship muscles as the election ramps up.

A recent post on X sums up the observations of many Americans who see the First Amendment is under attack:

'Democrats fear free speech because it means Americans (and the Free World) might see two sides to a policy disagreement and decide to choose the one Democrats detest. Far-Leftist Dem now evince a lust for power that overwhelms American norms of respecting other points of view.'

Republican President Eisenhower may be rolling in his grave as he recognizes in the Censorship-Industrial Complex — as revealed in Jordan's report — dangers comparable to those he warned about in the military sphere over sixty years ago.

Dr. Barbara Toth has a doctorate in rhetoric and composition from Bowling Green State University. She has taught at universities in the US, China and Saudi Arabia. Her work in setting up a writing center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahmen University, an all-women's university in Riyadh, has been cited in American journals. Toth has published academic and non-academic articles and poems internationally.

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