(Snews) – Facebook’s parent company Meta gave the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) de facto access to its platforms to censor so-called “misinformation,” newly emerged emails show.
The company allowed officials from the federal health agency to effectively police content on Facebook and Instagram.
In what some are calling the “Facebook Files,” the revelation was revealed in confidential emails that emerged thanks to a court case – the state of Missouri suing the Biden administration.
The emails show that Facebook and Instagram representatives and the CDC not only kept in touch at all times, but that the Big Tech giant also “routinely asked government health officials to vet claims relating to the virus, mitigation efforts such as masks, and vaccines.”
In turn, the CDC kept a watchful eye on what speech was allowed on Facebook.
It also decided on what policies toward censorship of “inconvenient” Covid topics applied.
The taxpayer-funded agency had no problem instructing the social network behemoth how to behave in these instances.
Robbie Soave, a senior editor for Reason, revealed some examples of what was happening in a series of tweets citing the emails and providing screenshots.
One shows that in May 2021, CDC started to get involved in “vetting” content on Facebook that concerns Covid vaccines.
And CDC had the last word on what was allowed to remain online as “accurate.”
Other emails show that Facebook (Meta) made sure the CDC was given de facto power to police Covid “misinformation.”
At the same time, Facebook was flagging content for the CDC and consulting with the agency on claims that could “contribute to vaccine refusals.”
3. For instance, in May 2021, CDC officials began routinely vetting claims about COVID-19 vaccines that had appeared on Facebook. The platform left it up to the federal government to determine which assertions were accurate. pic.twitter.com/0QDrxXG7iE
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) January 19, 2023
6. Claims vetted by the CDC included whether "COVID-19 is man-made." The CDC told Facebook that it was "theoretically possible, but extremely unlikely." pic.twitter.com/7YvlQXTSXD
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) January 19, 2023
7. By July 2021, the CDC wasn't just evaluating which claims it thought were false, but whether they could "cause harm." pic.twitter.com/eBmyZHlm0x
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) January 19, 2023
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