Government & Social Media Stifled Covid Debate

The release of internal Twitter communications, thanks to the actions of the company’s new owner, Elon Musk, has provided the public with a unique view of how our government, in coordination with large, powerful corporations, intentionally suppressed dissenting opinions and ideas about Covid and Covid policies. Amid our vigorous and often angry debates over the pandemic and the way it was handled, political actors were working with Twitter to limit the speech of certain voices challenging what had become the “official” line.

In a December release of one batch of the Twitter Files, journalist David Zweig revealed how the Trump and Biden administrations both actively pushed social media to suppress the opinions of certain scientists, thinkers, and physicians in their discussions of the U.S. public-health policy response to the pandemic. Politicians, it became clear, wanted to stop the spread of science-based dissent from their policies, setting a dangerous new precedent in America. This startling bipartisan effort to shape public debate over such a critical issue shows how the levers of our government have become corrupt, regardless of who holds power.

PJ

About the Author

Pradheep J. Shanker

Pradheep J. Shanker is a radiologist who focuses on health policy.

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The release of internal Twitter communications, thanks to the actions of the company’s new owner, Elon Musk, has provided the public with a unique view of how our government, in coordination with large, powerful corporations, intentionally suppressed dissenting opinions and ideas about Covid and Covid policies. Amid our vigorous and often angry debates over the pandemic and the way it was handled, political actors were working with Twitter to limit the speech of certain voices challenging what had become the “official” line.

In a December release of one batch of the Twitter Files, journalist David Zweig revealed how the Trump and Biden administrations both actively pushed social media to suppress the opinions of certain scientists, thinkers, and physicians in their discussions of the U.S. public-health policy response to the pandemic. Politicians, it became clear, wanted to stop the spread of science-based dissent from their policies, setting a dangerous new precedent in America. This startling bipartisan effort to shape public debate over such a critical issue shows how the levers of our government have become corrupt, regardless of who holds power.