Facebook, Instagram Using Fake Fact Checks To Curb Reporting On Fauci Emails

Facebook is actively using its Big Tech powers to censor and suppress reporting about the release of Anthony Fauci’s emails.

The Silicon Valley giant has long played an active role in censoring theories about COVID-19’s origin, even threatening those who alleged the virus could’ve been manmade and leaked from the Wuhan lab with suspensions and bans. Shortly after President Joe Biden reinstated an inquiry into the virus’s beginnings, however, Facebook announced it would no longer suppress claims that COVID-19 was not naturally created.

While the Big Tech company has started to backtrack on some of its censorship efforts, Facebook still remains dedicated to removing “false claims” about any of the COVID-19 vaccines from its site and has reportedly begun censoring posts related to the release of Fauci’s emails.

Several users took to Twitter on Wednesday and Thursday to complain that their comments and posts discussing the emails, or even posting a screenshot of the publicized information, were cited as reasons for their removal or event account suspension. Some of these alleged bans appeared to be enforced for at least three days.

Ahh @facebook. Maybe Fauci should tell Zuck!

But seriously, the open alliance between Big Tech and government agencies on #covid raises all sorts of questions, especially this one – if @facebook is serving as an arm of the government, why doesn’t the First Amendment apply to it? pic.twitter.com/EJDPNSFzHS

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) June 4, 2021

Others saw their posts on Facebook get slapped with fake “fact-checks” and labels cautioning that the posts were lacking pertinent information. One Federalist article was flagged by “independent fact-checkers” from Agence France-Presse, which found its start just four years ago in 2017, for an article that was supposedly “missing context.” The Federalist article accurately reported that Fauci pushed Americans to mask up even when he admitted masks weren’t very effective. Agence France-Presse, however, claimed, “Fauci’s email reflected the consensus at the time among US health experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the surgeon general, America’s leading public health spokesman.”

“That consensus changed as new information emerged and concerns over the limited supply of masks for medical personnel subsided,” the phony fact-check concluded.

Facebook-owned Instagram also hopped on the fake “fact-checking” bandwagon. Shortly after a Federalist staffer posted a meme about the emails on his Instagram story, Facebook partially covered his post with a “missing context” flag encouraging users to look at how “the same information was reviewed by independent fact-checkers in another post.” The label disappeared hours later without a trace. 

In addition to showing his mask hypocrisy and downplaying of U.S.-funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, Fauci’s emails also revealed that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases colluded with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to control the distribution of the federal government’s COVID-19 guidance across the website.

“Your idea and proposal sound terrific. I would be happy to do a video for your hub,” Fauci replied to Zuckerberg’s proposals. “We need to reach as many people as possible and convince them to take mitigation strategies seriously or things will get much, much worse. Also, your idea about [REDACTED] is very exciting.” An additional offer to Fauci was fully redacted.

Facebook did not respond to The Federalist’s questions or request for comment.

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