There’s a very simply exercise: how would the media and Democrats react had it been the Trump admin doing this?
.@PressSec: "We're flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation." pic.twitter.com/xTCvg3tyFQ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 15, 2021
Critics roundly condemned the White House after press secretary Jen Psaki revealed the Biden administration is working with Facebook to flag “problematic” posts that “spread disinformation” on COVID-19.
On Thursday, Psaki was asked a question regarding the Biden administration’s request for tech companies to be more “aggressive” when policing what they referred to as “misinformation.” Psaki revealed that the White House is “in regular touch with social media platforms” to handle it.
“We are in regular touch with the social media platforms and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team — given, as Dr. Murthy conveyed, this is a big issue, of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic,” Psaki explained.
While referencing the team’s actions, Psaki also revealed that they are “flagging” posts on Facebook as part of their efforts.
Had the Trump admin done this we would have gotten Category 5 Apoplexy, with Pelosi and her House Comrades threatening impeachment. The NY Times, Washington Post, and LA Times editorial boards would have written Very Upset editorials calling Trump a Fascist, that he was violating Free Speech and Destroying Democracy.
“Psaki says the White House has been flagging ‘problematic posts’ on Facebook they believe are misinformation about Wuhan coronavirus. Reminder: Fauci worked with Facebook to ban the lab leak theory, which is factual, for more than a year,” Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich tweeted.
Dan Gainor, of Media Research Center, said people being anti-vaccine is part of free speech and that Psaki is “against freedom.”
Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote a lengthy Twitter thread condemning the revelation from Psaki.
“If you don’t find it deeply disturbing that the White House is ‘flagging’ internet content that they deem ‘problematic’ to their Facebook allies for removal, then you are definitionally [sic] an authoritarian. No other information is needed about you to know that,” he wrote.
The story itself is mostly being ignored by the Credentialed Media, and will be so until Psaki walks it back and those outlets Blame Republicans for making a big deal of this.
