In case you missed it …
Facebook has ruled that pictures of naked breasts, including nipples, are okay if you call yourself transgender.
My friend John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, wrote a great article showing that although Americans use guns four to five times more often to stop crime than commit it, TV shows portray the opposite.
After an art history professor sued them, Hamline University now says it was a “misstep” to call her “Islamophobic” for showing artistic depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. The university admits it fired her and accused her of Islamophobia to appease Muslim students.
Dear Friends,
Just as we got a break from the Twitter Files information releases, Robby Soave at Reason announced he had … the Facebook Files.
He reported that he obtained confidential documents showing that health advisers at the CDC had
“… significant input on pandemic-era social media policies at Facebook as well. They were consulted frequently, at times daily. They were actively involved in the affairs of content moderators, providing constant and ever-evolving guidance. They requested frequent updates about which topics were trending on the platforms, and they recommended what kinds of content should be deemed false or misleading.”
Facebook reversed its ban on users claiming Covid was due to a lab leak after CDC staff told the company that although it was “extremely unlikely” it was “theoretically possible.”
The CDC warned Facebook to "BOLO [be on the lookout] for a small but growing area of misinfo” and attached sample Facebook posts to the memo.
Yes, sir, we will, sir
Although the CDC reached out in the above case, it was more common for Facebook to go to the CDC to ask their opinion.
Facebook was sure to notify the CDC that, once the Pfizer vaccine was approved, the company updated its policies. Facebook assured the CDC they would censor anyone claiming the vaccine was not safe for kids.
Not only did Facebook consult the CDC on whether posts were accurate, they asked whether believing those claims would “contribute to vaccine refusals.”
Facebook also kept the CDC up-to-date on the most popular Covid and vaccine claims, including memes, people were posting on the site. They even let the CDC know when people were being mean to Dr. Fauci.
Of course, considering the pressure government agencies put on social media companies to censor users, it’s not surprising that Facebook consulted the CDC. You’ll remember, the White House demanded that Facebook censor a Tucker Carlson video regarding the vaccine. The president himself said social media companies were “killing people” in the summer of 2021. And we know from the Twitter Files how much pressure the administration was putting on Twitter to censor Covid, and other, information online as well.
That’s a lot of power for a health department.
If you want to vet allegations about COVID, you SHOULD be consulting with the CDC. Who else? No scandal here.