Morning Wire The White House vs. Free Speech: Amazon Files | Sunday Extra
Feb 18, 2024
The podcast delves into the White House's alleged pressure on big tech for speech censorship, highlighting concerning implications for free speech. It discusses the Biden administration's influence, including attempts to remove political tweets, raising First Amendment challenges. The role of government in regulating COVID-19 information is scrutinized, exposing risks to public discourse. Investigative efforts reveal potential coordinated censorship by influential institutions, while calls for accountability stress the importance of protecting individual rights.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Early Censorship
- The White House pressured Twitter to remove a tweet from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just three days into Biden's presidency.
- The tweet, containing true statements about Hank Aaron's death after vaccination, was flagged due to its context.
Compliance Under Pressure
- Despite initial reluctance, Amazon eventually complied with White House pressure to suppress content.
- Big tech companies often initially push back, but they frequently cave to the government's demands.
Slavitt's Role
- Andrew Slavitt, Biden's COVID-19 advisor, repeatedly questioned Amazon about alleged misinformation.
- He was also involved in censorship efforts targeting Twitter and Facebook, often using "malinformation" as justification.