In a groundbreaking revelation, documents obtained by FOX Business expose the Biden administration’s collaboration with employees of Google-owned YouTube in an effort to combat COVID-19 misinformation. The documents, obtained through a source close to the House Judiciary Committee, shed light on the extent to which President Biden and his aides worked with YouTube to promote vaccinations and address vaccine hesitancy during the ongoing pandemic.
The campaign, led by former White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty, aimed to tackle vaccine misinformation and hesitancy. Flaherty reached out to Google team members in April 2021, expressing interest in their work to combat vaccine misinformation and offering government assistance through COVID experts at the White House to collaborate on product work with YouTube.
Internal emails from Google revealed that after a subsequent meeting with Flaherty, the White House staffer emphasized their decision-making process regarding borderline content, which refers to content that does not violate community guidelines but comes close to doing so. Google acknowledged that they shared with the White House the total number of videos removed for COVID vaccine misinformation, while Flaherty expressed interest in videos that were yet to be removed.
YouTube’s Government Affairs team raised concerns about tech’s role in addressing vaccine hesitancy, particularly as vaccine supply was set to outpace demand. They requested the YouTube Product team to brief the White House on their efforts to reduce borderline content, highlighting the urgency of the situation to prevent any potential escalation.
An update later revealed that conversations between the White House staff and the Google and YouTube Government Affairs teams took place, focusing on YouTube’s policies and efforts to combat harmful misinformation related to COVID-19. The Government Affairs team urged the YouTube Product team to meet directly with White House staff, emphasizing the potential benefits of a future working relationship.
These revelations come a year after the release of the original Twitter Files, which sparked a national debate on online freedom of speech. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, expressed concerns about the Biden administration’s collaboration with Big Tech to censor American speech. Internal documents from Google obtained by the Judiciary Committee and Select Subcommittee indicate that this scheme extended to YouTube. Jordan vowed to continue the committees’ investigative work to protect Americans’ First Amendment rights and put an end to government censorship.
Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger, two journalists involved in the Twitter Files publication, are scheduled to appear before Jordan’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Capitol Hill to examine the federal government’s involvement in social media censorship and recent attacks on independent journalism and free expression.
FOX Business reached out to both the White House and Google for comment but received no response. As this story unfolds, it raises important questions about the relationship between the government, social media platforms, and the impact on free speech and public discourse.
