Shedding further light on the Biden White House’s efforts to influence Facebook, new materials obtained by the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), have uncovered the fact that the WH sought algorithm changes to make its preferred media sources more visible to users.
This latest cache of communications between Facebook and the Biden White House, was only obtained after the House Judiciary Committee brought considerable pressure to bear on the tech company. This literally included a threat to hold Mark Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress.
In this latest round of disclosures, Biden’s White House digital strategy director, Rob Flaherty, can be seen suggesting that Facebook change its algorithm, to promote corporate establishment media including The New York Times, over competitors, including Tomi Lahren and the Daily Wire. In this newly released segment of what Jordan has dubbed the “Facebook files”, Flaherty reportedly inquired-
“If you were to change the algorithm so that people were more likely to see NYT, WSJ, any authoritative news source over Daily Wire, Tomi Lahren, polarizing people,”… “You wouldn’t have a mechanism to check the material impact?”
-Rob Flaherty
Surprisingly, this is not the first time that Flaherty’s name has come up. Other such emails have been released between Biden’s point man on digital strategy and Facebook officials, through court documents in Missouri v. Biden. The documents reveal that Flaherty pressured Facebook, to spy on and censor users on WhatsApp, a supposedly encrypted private messaging platform.
By way of an email to Facebook, officials disclosed through the lawsuit, that Flaherty actually asked how Facebook could prevent “misinformation” on WhatsApp if they couldn’t see people’s messages.
Flaherty reportedly asked-
“If you can’t see the message, I’m genuinely curious - how do you know what kinds of messages you’ve cut down on?”
-Rob Flaherty
In yet another email, Flaherty reportedly blasted Facebook for not reducing the spread of “vaccine-skeptical” content. He wrote-
“I care mostly about what actions and changes you’re making to ensure you’re not making our country’s vaccine hesitancy problem worse,” “I still don’t have a good, empirical answer on how effective you’ve been at reducing the spread of vaccine-skeptical content and misinformation to vaccine fence sitters.”
-Rob Flaherty
The obvious total disregard for American’s basic constitutional rights by this administration, is appalling. That they pressured, colluded, interfered with social media freedom of speech, and in general, sought to control social media to suit their political purposes, is beyond belief. Further, that they were and are, so brazen as to work as an administration to control what American’s were or are allowed to know, is beyond reprehensible. What happened to FREEDOM ?
This administration requires evaluation and restructuring by those committed to our constitutional freedoms and the truth. Jordan and his committee are to be commended – what they have to clean up – is clearly evil.
“The first duty of man is the seeking after and the investigation of truth.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero