by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. The Defender

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s admission last month that senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to censor content related to COVID-19 during the pandemic has prompted some media outlets to correct articles published years ago.

This article was published on The Defender—Children’s Health Defense News & Views Website on September 13, 2024

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s admission last month that senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to censor content related to COVID-19 during the pandemic has prompted some media outlets to correct articles published years ago.

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Forbes and The Independent recently updated previously published articles about the so-called “Disinformation Dozen” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to GreenMedInfo.

“The Disinformation Dozen,” a list of 12 “leading online anti-vaxxers,” was published in March 2021 by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit organization that says it stops “the spread of online hate.”

According to CCDH, these 12 people, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then-chairman and chief litigation counsel of Children’s Health Defense (CHD)—now chairman on leave—were responsible for 65% of “anti-vaccine content circulating on social media platforms.”

Among the corrected news articles are a July 2021 Forbes article, “De-platform The Disinformation Dozen,” and a March 2021 article in The Independent, “Study names 12 most dangerous anti-vaxxers in America.”

McGill University in Montreal, Canada, added a pinned comment with a correction to its “A Dose of Science” YouTube video, posted in March 2022 by the university’s Office for Science & Society.

GreenMedInfo, whose founder, Sayer Ji, was included among the “Disinformation Dozen,” called the corrections “a crucial step towards rectifying the record and vindicating free speech advocates in the realm of medical choices and informed consent.”

But GreenMedInfo noted that CCDH and its CEO Imran Ahmed, continue to repeat claims that the “Disinformation Dozen” are responsible for 65% of vaccine-related “misinformation” online, such as in a Men’s Health interview in June.

CHD CEO Mary Holland told The Defender she is “glad to see some mainstream media corrections, but they are of course too little, too late to have any real impact.”

CHD General Counsel Kim Mack Rosenberg said:

“The harms here run deep—attacking the very fabric of our First Amendment rights. Free speech is a hallmark of democracy, and I am concerned that the government’s suppression of speech, CCDH’s actions, and a media that was coerced by and complicit with government, is a dangerous and slippery slope about which all Americans need to be concerned.”

Ohio physician Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, named on the “Disinformation Dozen” list, told The Defender the recent developments are a victory.

“I am hopeful. This win is not just us, but for every person who steadfastly held the line and said no to being a human experiment,” Tenpenny said.

She said the recent developments are also a form of vindication:

“The exposure of the manipulation that went on behind the scenes to silence us is what we suspected, and now we know. Despite the media attacks and the loss of both reputation and income, this admission by mainstream media and Big Tech is a testament to our unwavering commitment.

“We have the sad last laugh against their attacks. They are the ones with blood on their hands. It is a significant ‘I told you so’ to the world. We were right all along, and in spite of their attacks, we remain the beacons of truth, continuing to warn.”

Zuckerberg’s admission, in a letter to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, included a statement that he regretted not being more outspoken about the government’s pressure to censor social media content.

Positive implications for free speech lawsuits against the government?

The corrections by mainstream media follow the latest developments in Kennedy and CHD’s class action lawsuit against the Biden administration, filed in March 2023, alleging key government agencies and officials violated Americans’ First Amendment rights by colluding with social media platforms to censor content.

Last month, a federal court in Louisiana ruled that Kennedy and CHD have standing to sue the Biden administration for pressuring Big Tech to censor their social media posts.

Judge Terry A. Doughty ruled that Kennedy and CHD took “positions contrary to Government positions on COVID-19, including mask mandatesvaccine mandatesvaccine injurieslockdowns, etc.”

Doughty’s ruling also noted that CCDH identified Kennedy as one of the “Disinformation Dozen,” and that CHD was named as a tool for spreading “anti-vaccine messages.”

Doughty also referenced emails between the White House and social media platforms in 2021, in which those companies agreed to de-amplify, place warnings on or fully censor posts— including a tweet by Kennedy, containing so-called “vaccine misinformation”—regardless of whether the information was true.

“Facebook admitted that although the CHD’s posts did not violate its policies, it would suppress content that originated from CHD,” Doughty wrote.

Media outlets’ recent corrections of their previous stories about CCDH and the “Disinformation Dozen” may have positive implications for Kennedy v. Biden, Murthy v. Missouri—formerly Missouri v. Biden—and CHD v. Meta, which alleges federal agencies teamed up with Facebook to censor speech.

Last month, a federal court ruled against CHD in its case against Meta. Holland told The Defender CHD will likely appeal to the Supreme Court. She said:

“Without an enforced First Amendment, our country is in grave trouble. In the aftermath of COVID, the press and the courts are beginning to acknowledge the devastation it wrought to the right to freedom of the press and freedom of speech.”

The Defender on occasion posts content related to Children’s Health Defense’s nonprofit mission that features Mr. Kennedy’s views on the issues CHD and The Defender regularly cover. Mr. Kennedy, an independent candidate for president of the U.S., is on leave from CHD.

In keeping with Federal Election Commission rules, this content does not represent an endorsement of Mr. Kennedy’s candidacy or his support for President Donald Trump’s campaign.

This article was published by The Defender—Children Health Defense News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CCBYNCND 4.4.0