Rep Jim Jordan Reveals White House's Alleged Influence on Facebook's 'Lab Leak' Censorship

Introduction

Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) has recently unveiled several pieces of previously undisclosed information that suggest the White House pressured Facebook to suppress discussions about the lab leak theory of Covid-19. This information is what Elon Musk has referred to as a "smoking gun".

Zuckerberg's Text Message

The first piece of evidence Jordan presents is a text message from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Sheryl Sandberg, Nick Clegg, and Joel Kaplan, who were the highest-ranking executives in the company at the time. In this message, Zuckerberg inquires whether Facebook could disclose to the public that "the [Biden] WH put pressure on us to censor the lab leak theory" - a question he posed just hours after President Biden accused Facebook of "killing people".

Response from Facebook Executives

In response to Zuckerberg's query, Clegg labeled the Biden White House as "highly cynical and dishonest," while Sandberg suggested that they were being used as a scapegoat because the White House was failing to meet its vaccination targets. Facebook, according to these executives, had been 'combating misinformation,' or in other words, censoring Americans, throughout the year.

Facebook's Change of Heart

It wasn't until late May 2021 that Facebook ceased to remove content related to the lab leak theory, although they did continue to downgrade it. When employees informed Zuckerberg about the policy change and explained why they had initially censored the lab leak theory, Zuckerberg responded that this is what happens when Facebook "compromises [its] standards due to pressure from an administration."

Elon Musk's Reaction

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has described these revelations as a "Smoking gun First Amendment violation."

Closing Thoughts

These revelations, if accurate, raise serious questions about the potential influence of government on social media platforms and the implications for free speech. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you believe that the government should have the power to influence what is and isn't censored on social media? Share this article with your friends and let us know your thoughts. Also, don't forget to sign up for the Daily Briefing, which takes place every day at 6pm.