In the United States, White House pressure on Facebook was reported in order to promote “pleasing” media

The White House was interested in Facebook (the social network is owned by Meta, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) in the possibility of adjusting the algorithm so that users see articles by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and not articles by The Daily Wire and Fox News journalist Tomi Laren. About it writes edition of Just the News.

Such a question could have been raised at meetings of White House Chief Digital Officer Rob Flaherty with Facebook executives in the spring of 2021. Documents were delivered to the US House Judiciary Committee, from which it follows that the White House actively interacted with the social network in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic and pressured the company to moderate content in a way that would encourage as many Americans as possible to get vaccinated.

The publication notes that on April 14, 2021, Flaherty asked Facebook if he could promote The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and not the posts of conservative journalists. Just the News clarifies that Laren publicly stated that she would not be vaccinated, and The Daily Wire tried to challenge Biden’s executive order requiring employees to be vaccinated to keep their jobs.

Laren said she was not surprised by the White House’s stance, and under Biden, freedom of speech “is on its last legs.” The Daily Wire editor Ben Shapiro noted that White House pressure on Facebook to reduce Daily Wire traffic is “an obvious, heinous and predictable violation of the First Amendment”. [к Конституции]”. He also added that he was not afraid to sue the Biden administration in order to preserve freedom of speech.

Rep. Jim Jordan said the evidence his committee is gathering shows the White House is pressuring Facebook to change its moderation policy.