(LifeSiteNews) — The nineteenth “Twitter Files” installment has revealed that a Stanford University initiative routinely told social media companies to suppress posts containing “[t]rue content which might promote vaccine hesitancy.”
According to the latest installment of files posted to Twitter on Friday by journalist Matt Taibbi, The Virality Project, a Stanford University initiative launched in May 2020 that receives federal funding by the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation, instructed Big Tech social media platforms such as Twitter and TikTok to take action against admittedly “true” posts regarding the experimental COVID-19 vaccines as part of its fight against “disinformation.”
In the internal communications posted by Taibbi, the Stanford-led project flagged “True content which might promote vaccine hesitancy,” including “stories of true vaccine side effects,” as content that needed to be combatted through censorship.
5.Just before @ShellenbergerMD and I testified in the House last week, Virality Project emails were found in the #TwitterFiles describing “stories of true vaccine side effects” as actionable content. pic.twitter.com/dKxTnxDc3a
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 17, 2023
In another communication between the project and high-ranking Twitter employees Yoel Roth and Brian Clarke, the Stanford researchers explained that some of these “true posts which could fuel hesitancy” included “individual countries banning certain vaccines” and “celebrity deaths after vaccine.”
14.VP told Twitter that “true stories that could fuel hesitancy,” including things like “celebrity deaths after vaccine” or the closure of a central NY school due to reports of post-vaccine illness, should be considered “Standard Vaccine Misinformation on Your Platform.” pic.twitter.com/nOyuw2r5cH
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 17, 2023
The Vitality Project also determined that posts that were critical of “vaccine passports” were “misinformation,” justifying the classification by saying that those who oppose discrimination based on vaccine status “have driven a larger anti-vaccination narrative about the loss of rights and freedoms.”
15. In one email to Twitter, VP addressed what it called the “vaccine passport narrative,” saying “concerns” over such programs “have driven a larger anti-vaccination narrative about the loss of rights and freedoms.”
This was framed as a “misinformation” event. pic.twitter.com/ZdbKE1tFac— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 17, 2023
Perhaps the most pointed examples of factual information the group wanted suppressed under the guise of misinformation were the “true stories of people experiencing blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine,” as according to them, “Increased doubts in one manufacturer’s vaccine may lead to hesitancy about vaccination overall.”
16.VP routinely framed real testimonials about side effects as misinformation, from “true stories” of blood clots from AstraZeneca vaccines to a New York Times story about vaccine recipients who contracted the blood disorder thrombocytopenia. pic.twitter.com/EJ9hxLkMI2
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 17, 2023
The project also took issue with any expression of curiosity in adverse reactions, alleging that “just ‘asking questions'” is “a tactic commonly used by spreaders of misinformation to deflect culpability.”
21.VP warned against people “just asking questions,” implying it was a tactic “commonly used by spreaders of misinformation.” It also described a “Worldwide Rally for Freedom planned over Telegram” as a disinformation event. pic.twitter.com/VgOJpTN2Ey
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 17, 2023
Going more in-depth on The Vitality Project in general, Taibbi pointed to an April 26, 2022 report issued by the group in which it called for a “rumor-control mechanism to address nationally trending narratives,” and the creation of a “Misinformation and Disinformation Center of Excellence” at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
28.After about a year, on April 26, 2022, the VP issued a report calling for a “rumor-control mechanism to address nationally trending narratives,” and a “Misinformation and Disinformation Center of Excellence” to be housed within CISA, at the Department of Homeland Security. pic.twitter.com/YmWQtZmoL3
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 17, 2023
Taibbi notes that it was just the following day, April 27, that “DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced in a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing that a ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ had been created, to be headed by the singing censor, Nina Jankowitz.”
29. The next day, April 27, 2022, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced in a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing that a “Disinformation Governance Board” had been created, to be headed by the singing censor, Nina Jankowitz. https://t.co/OwWF7PW1Ct
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 17, 2023
The Twitter Files, which began last year after tech billionaire Elon Musk acquired the company, have been covered extensively by LifeSiteNews.
Other revelations from the ongoing series include internal communications indicating collusion between Twitter executives and the FBI, the clandestine suppression of conservative political candidates, the throttling of the Hunter Biden laptop story, and the censorious targeting of journalists by U.S. President Joe Biden’s Federal Trade Commission.