Sightful Invest
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Politics
  • Stock
Top Posts
Flashback: Top five wildest moments from Elon Musk’s...
Less than half of DOGE-terminated contracts can be...
Jill Biden should have to answer for ‘cover...
DOGE staffing shakeup as Elon Musk hangs up...
State Dept says DOGE’s changes will be permanent...
President Trump teases ‘last day, but not really’...
Trump denounces court’s ‘political’ tariff decision, calls on...
I’m a physician and I’m worried that our...
Inside the late-night drama that led to Trump’s...
Alleged attempt to impersonate White House chief of...
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Politics
  • Stock

Sightful Invest

Politics

FLASHBACK: Top Harris campaign aide was key voice in WH push to remove COVID info from tech platforms

by admin August 28, 2024
August 28, 2024
FLASHBACK: Top Harris campaign aide was key voice in WH push to remove COVID info from tech platforms

A current top campaign adviser for VP Kamala Harris was deeply involved in pushing Facebook to suppress ‘misinformation’ in an effort to control the political narrative on COVID and other issues.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in a letter on Monday while expressing regret that his company, Facebook, was pressured by the Biden-Harris administration to censor Americans, particularly regarding COVID-19 content, bringing to the forefront actions taken by Harris’ deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty as part of that pressure campaign.

Flaherty, who previously served as the White House director of digital strategy, helped lead the campaign to target alleged ‘misinformation’ relating to the COVID-19 virus and its vaccinations, FOX Business previously reported.

Flaherty emailed Google team members in April 2021 to ‘connect […] about the work you’re doing to combat vaccine hesitancy, but also crack down on vaccine misinformation,’ according to the documents. 

Flaherty continued asking for trends surrounding vaccine misinformation on the website, while offering government assistance in the form of COVID experts at the White House to partner in product work with YouTube. 

Google, in an internal email, noted that after a subsequent meeting with Flaherty, the White House staffer ‘particularly dug in on our decision making for borderline content’ – which is content that doesn’t cross Community Guidelines but rather brushes up against it, according to YouTube. 

A week later, Google acknowledged that it sent the White House the total amount of videos removed for COVID vaccine misinformation, while discussing the government’s desire for even more data.

‘Really [Flaherty’s] interested in what we’re seeing that is NOT coming down,’ read an internal Google email between employees, seemingly referring to videos that had not yet been removed. 

According to internal company communications viewed by FOX Business and reported on in 2023, Flaherty asked Facebook if they could provide government agencies with special access to tools to target users in 2021. 

‘Since it’s a global pandemic, can we give agencies access to targeting parameters that they normally wouldn’t be able to?’ Flaherty asked.

The idea came up in a conversation about how to convince people worried about side effects around the COVID vaccine to take it.

On an April 5 call, a Facebook employee mentioned how if someone was worried about nosebleeds as a side effect of the vaccine, in an ideal world, they would direct them to information addressing that concern. Flaherty asked the Facebook team, ‘Are you able to provide resources?’ 

Another Facebook employee replied that doing something like showing them a targeted resource addressing their concern might trigger people. The Facebook employee said they ‘have to be careful in how we approach.’ 

Flaherty asked, ‘If people are having the conversation, is the presumption that we let people have it. Direct them to CDC. What then?’ 

A Facebook employee replied, ‘We all know people that have had the experience that think that FB is listening to them.’ 

The Facebook employee told Flaherty that something like an immediate generated message about nosebleeds might give users ‘the Big Brother feel’ but suggested they show the content on a delay to avoid setting off alarm bells among users. 

‘We should pay attention to those conversations, make sure that people see information, even if it’s not right then,’ the Facebook employee said. 

Flaherty was involved in a tense exchange with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, during a hearing on Capitol Hill earlier this year when Flaherty claimed that Elon Musk did not face ‘any adverse government actions’ in response to changing the outlet’s censorship policies.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

‘Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take content down, and we own our decisions, including COVID-19-related changes we made to our enforcement in the wake of this pressure,’ Zuckerberg wrote in his letter to the House Judiciary Committee this week. ‘I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.

Fox News Digital’s Hillary Vaughn and Chase Williams contributed to this report

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

previous post
Far left wants to crush PayPal, Zelle and you can take that to the bank
next post
Ex-Obama official predicts Harris will seek new Iran nuclear deal: ‘Has to be the goal’

You may also like

White House website praises lifetime Supreme Court appointments...

July 30, 2024

US made aware of Israel’s strike on Iran...

October 26, 2024

Pandemic, price tags and privacy concerns: Why it...

April 22, 2025

Canadians feel ‘under economic attack,’ frustration with US...

March 10, 2025

Look past the tributes, Joe Biden has been...

August 20, 2024

4 of the biggest clashes between Patel, Senate...

January 31, 2025

Kurdish official warns US: ‘now is not the...

October 6, 2024

Trump hails cooperative effort at anti-revenge porn bill...

May 20, 2025

Trump team ‘confident’ Senate Republicans will approve cabinet...

November 21, 2024

Trump nominates pair to help lead DOJ, announces...

December 22, 2024

Recent Posts

  • Flashback: Top five wildest moments from Elon Musk’s DOGE tenure as it comes to an end
  • Less than half of DOGE-terminated contracts can be publicly tracked, only about a quarter of grants: watchdog
  • Jill Biden should have to answer for ‘cover up’ of former president’s decline, White House says
  • DOGE staffing shakeup as Elon Musk hangs up his hat, White House confirms
  • State Dept says DOGE’s changes will be permanent amid Musk’s departure

    Become a VIP member by signing up for our newsletter. Enjoy exclusive content, early access to sales, and special offers just for you! As a VIP, you'll receive personalized updates, loyalty rewards, and invitations to private events. Elevate your experience and join our exclusive community today!


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Categories

    • Business (751)
    • Investing (2,211)
    • Politics (2,729)
    • Stock (4)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: sightfulinvest.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2024 Sightful Invest. All Rights Reserved.