The Facebook Files confirm how governments and intelligence are exploiting the battle against fake news to silence divergent voices, going so far as to impose censorship of true but "inconvenient" news.
The revelations on the so-called Facebook Files do not stop, which are shedding further light on the pressures that Big Tech has suffered from the White House and from the intelligence to censor on social network true but uncomfortable content, labeling it as "misinformation".
The papers published by Jim Jordan
The case of the Twitter Files, in fact, attests to how the social network now owned by Musk has influenced the debate on Covid, manipulating it according to the directives of the White House and the FBI and censoring the divergent contents with respect to the pandemic narrative. The attention has now moved back to Facebook, one of the most used social networks in the world, with the publication of the documents by Republican deputy Jim Jordan on Twitter.
Already last January, the Wall Street Journal published an investigation into the Facebook Files. These are documents that had just been released which showed that the White House had, once again, played a key role in social media censorship.
The Democratic executive had lobbied Mark Zuckerberg’s social networks to obscure posts relating to "often true" content, which could however be perceived as "sensational, alarmist or shocking" material. In other words, censor "true" news but uncomfortable for the democratic government, which could generate uncertainty, fear, and hesitation about the efficacy and safety of the anti-Covid vaccines.
Zuckerberg’s admission
Zuckerberg himself admitted to Lex Fridman’s, such pressures with a public " [3]": "On Covid-19 I think the scientific establishment got confused on a lot of facts and asked to censor a lot of things that, in retrospect, have become questionable or true,” he said.
Pressed on disinformation, Zuckerberg explained bluntly that "there are some topics that are considered dangerous by the community, such as pedophilia, terrorism or violence. Then there are other issues on which society debates, such as Covid: at the beginning of the pandemic there were real implications for health."
The confirmation of the WSJ investigation
Now, according to what has emerged, what was disclosed in January by the WSJ is confirmed: Facebook allegedly censored or reduced the visibility of true content and of public interest regarding COVID-19 and vaccines, upon explicit request by the government of the States United.
This raises a number of questions about the relationship between large tech companies and government authorities, and whether these companies are influenced by politics and external pressure when it comes to deciding what content should be visible to the public.
Jordan’s release of internal documents showed the public that Facebook was under pressure from several stakeholders, including the White House, to remove content discouraging vaccine use . This means that the platform would have removed or reduced visibility of content that may have raised legitimate concerns or concerns about vaccinations.
Hogging the truth
The Surgeon General, the US government-appointed public health officer, was also involved in calling for the removal of true information on adverse events related to vaccines unless they were specified as rare and treatable.
This element raises questions about transparency and the free dissemination of information, as it seems that some inconvenient truths can be hidden or silenced at the request of the authorities.
The implications of these revelations are alarming. While it is important to combat misinformation and promote accurate public health information, it is equally essential to ensure that this is done in a balanced and non-invasive way.
The indiscriminate censorship of content without proper verification and without the involvement of stakeholders can lead to negative consequences for society and undermine trust in social media platforms.
These events have raised the debate about the need for more regulation and transparency for big tech companies. While social media plays a significant role in disseminating information, it is essential that they are guided by the principles of freedom of expression and access to information, without experiencing pressure from governments or other political entities.
The Facebook Files confirm once again how the Masters of ideas are exploiting the battle against fake news to silencing divergent voices with respect to the dominant narrative.
The intent is not to protect the community, but rather to monopolize the truth and impose one’s own vision on the population, through censorship.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-08-07 08:00:00. Original title: Facebook Files: la Casa Bianca ha costretto Facebook a censurare notizie vere ma scomode durante la pandemia
