Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman is taking aim at the Fauci Diaries, a trove of emails released from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s inbox that reveal the inner workings of government officials and big tech during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Pandemic of Panic Censorship
America was hit six years ago with a pandemic of panic censorship, according to Hageman. The Republican representative claims that as the novel Wuhan coronavirus began to spread across our shores, anxious Americans looked to public health officials to guide them through the crisis.
However, what they got instead was a coordinated effort between government officials, big tech, and so-called “fact-checkers” to silence dissenting voices and stifle free speech.
The Fauci Diaries, a collection of over 3,700 emails, paint a damning picture of this censorship industrial complex. The emails show Fauci and his colleagues at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) working closely with social media companies like Twitter and Facebook to remove content that they deemed “misinformation.”
Censorship by Any Other Name
Hageman argues that this was not just a legitimate attempt to combat misinformation, but a deliberate effort to silence conservative voices and stifle dissent. She points to the fact that many of the emails were flagged as “sensitive” or “privileged,” suggesting that they were meant to be kept out of the public eye.
The Fauci Diaries also reveal a cozy relationship between government officials and big tech. Fauci and his colleagues worked closely with social media companies to develop algorithms that would flag and remove content that they deemed “problematic.”
This raises serious questions about the role of big tech in policing free speech and the dangers of a censorship industrial complex. As Hageman notes, “When government officials and big tech work together to silence dissenting voices, it’s a threat to our fundamental right to free speech.”
What this means
Hageman’s take on the Fauci Diaries is a warning to Americans about the dangers of a censorship industrial complex. This is not just a partisan issue, but a fundamental threat to our democracy and our right to free speech. As we move forward, it’s essential to be vigilant about censorship and to hold our elected officials and big tech accountable for their actions.
