Dr. Vivek Murthy says it’s ‘about protecting the nation’s health’
Art Moore
WND News Center
President Biden’s surgeon general on Thursday demanded that the major social media companies submit detailed information about the COVID-19 “misinformation” on their platforms.
The surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, wants to know “exactly how many users saw or may have been exposed to instances of Covid-19 misinformation.” In his notice, he also asked for aggregate data on demographic groups that may have been disproportionately affected by the misinformation, the New York Times reported.
With a deadline of May 2, Murthy also demanded the Big Tech companies provide information about the major sources of COVID-19 “misinformation,” including those selling “unproven” products, services and treatments.
“Technology companies now have the opportunity to be open and transparent with the American people about the misinformation on their platforms,” Murthy said in an emailed statement to the Times.
“This is about protecting the nation’s health.”
The Times noted that denying a request for information “does not carry a penalty, but the notice represents the first formal request from the Biden administration of the tech companies to submit Covid-19 misinformation data, according to the surgeon general’s office.”
The White House has stepped into the controversy over top-rated podcaster Joe Rogan’s interviews with prominent medical scientists Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough, essentially calling for censorship. Press secretary Jan Psaki has declared that flagging “misinformation” contrary to the government’s narrative is not enough, and social media platforms must do more.
In an interview with MSNBC in January, Murthy said the social media “platforms still have not stepped up to do the right thing, and do enough, I should say, to reduce the spread of misinformation.”
Six months ago, Murthy issued a first formal advisory accusing Big Tech of failing to do its public duty, calling misinformation “an urgent threat to public health.”
In February, as WND reported, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin naming “proliferation of false or misleading narratives” regarding COVID-19 and the 2020 election as among the top terror threats. The National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin warned of a heightened threat of terror due in part to “an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors.”
When ‘misinformation’ becomes consensus
The Times on Thursday reported Murthy’s request for information is part of Biden’s Covid National Preparedness Plan, which the White House detailed on Wednesday after the State of the Union address.
Murthy also is seeking information from health care providers and the public on how COVID-19 “misinformation” has influenced patients and communities.
“We’re asking anyone with relevant insights — from original research and datasets, to personal stories that speak to the role of misinformation in public health — to share them with us,” he said.
The charge of spreading “misinformation,” however, has come as top health officials and scientists walk back their stances on masks, lockdowns, vaccines and other efforts to combat COVID-19, confirming the claims of esteemed scientists they have dismissed as “fringe” and conspiracy theorists.”
In November, for example, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla charged people are spreading “misinformation” about the vaccines, calling them “criminals” who have cost “millions of lives.” However, Bourla acknowledged in January that two doses of his vaccine “offer very limited protection, if any” against the dominant omicron variant. And he said the mRNA vaccines “don’t have the safety profile that we hoped we can achieve with this technology.”
The FDA approved the Pfizer shot for kids one week after an FDA advisory panel voted to recommend it despite acknowledging the lack of safety data and the nearly 100% survival rate for children from infection.
Michael P Senger, an attorney who has published books on the pandemic, observed Thursday on Twitter, “Virtually everything the US Surgeon General has labeled ‘misinformation’ has been proven true.”
He wrote:
- Lockdowns saved no one from COVID
- Mass testing led to a permanent “pandemic”
- Cloth masks don’t work
- Vaccines don’t prevent infection or transmission
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, at a news conference Thursday, recounted the evidence that wearing masks does not save lives.
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- Study: Risk for getting COVID rises with each shot
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- No good news about student learning on 4-year anniversary of COVID school closuresFour years ago this month, schools nationwide shut down as COVID-19 numbers skyrocketed and students were sent home for what was initially planned to be two weeks.
- NBA Hall-of-Famer among plaintiffs in lawsuit over WA state COVID-19 restrictionsNBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton of Spokane is among the plaintiffs suing over alleged free-speech sanctions levied against health care providers who spoke out against state restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Opinion: Gov. Inslee wants to be remembered for COVID-19 response?Elizabeth Hovde of the Washington Policy Center doesn’t think Gov. Jay Inslee should remind people of his legacy COVID response.
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