WH COVID-19 Head Blames Social Media Users for ‘Misinformation' Spread

November 27th, 2022 5:06 PM

Last week, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha blamed social media users for spreading so-called misinformation related to the virus.

Reuters reported that Jha warned Americans during Tuesday's White House press briefing not to “trust” other social media users that challenge the government’s narrative about COVID-19.

"You can decide to trust America's physicians, or you can trust some random dude on Twitter. Those are your choices," Jha said.

"For journalists and for people who own platforms, what I would say is you should be thinking about what your personal responsibility is, and do you want to be a source of misinformation and disinformation? That's up to those individuals," he added.

The Biden administration has a history of using Big Tech companies for its own gain.

Last year, NewsBusters reported that the administration enlisted the help of Big Tech social media platforms to censor content that challenges the official narrative about the origin of COVID-19.

Facebook censored posts alleging that COVID-19 was manufactured in a laboratory in Wuhan, China. CNN later reported that Facebook backtracked “[i]n light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19.” 

Big Tech has also attacked Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for his response to the virus. YouTube deleted a roundtable video from DeSantis and several physicians for spreading so-called “misinformation.”

And at the start of the year, CBS News demanded that podcast host Joe Rogan be censored after he promoted alternative treatments to COVID-19.

Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.