White House told Facebook to change algorithm after J&J blood clots, documents reveal
A newly released batch of emails between Facebook executives and White House officials shows the social media platform asking how it can help propagate the Biden administration’s narrative about the vaccine.
The request came on April 13, 2021, the day the FDA and CDC announced a pause in the J&J vaccine distribution after they identified six women who developed severe blood clots following the injection.
“Re the J+J news, we’re keen to amplify any messaging you want us to project about what this means for people – it obviously has the risk of exacerbating vaccine hesitancy, so we’re keen to get ahead of the knock-on effect,” a Facebook executive asked COVID-19 Response Coordinator Senior Advisor Andrew Slavitt. “Don’t hesitate to tell me – or via your teams – how we can help you provide clarity/reassurance via Facebook.”
The executive then sent another email to then-COVID-19 Response Team member Courtney Rowe and White House Digital Strategy Director Rob Flaherty, asking them “how we are amplifying the right messages.”
Flaherty responded asking Facebook to put out “3-4 pieces of info” defending the vaccines, such as how the blood clots were found in only six women out of seven million people, the blood clots do not affect Pfizer or Moderna, the FDA and CDC are handling the situation, and other examples.
The White House official also offered to provide Facebook with an FAQ sheet to be "amplified in whatever way possible.”
Then Flaherty asked Facebook to change its very algorithm to make sure “a favorable review” of COVID-19 vaccines “reaches as many people as possible.”
“A commitment from you guys to make sure that a favorable review reaches as many people as possible as the pause, either through hard product interventions or algorithmic amplification,” wrote Flaherty.
Expectedly, the White House official also directed Facebook to make sure “the news about J&J doesn’t spin off misinformation.”
The following week, however, Facebook drew Flaherty’s ire after it refused to comply with the White House’s demand to censor Tucker Carlson for criticizing the J&J vaccine and the Biden administration’s narrative.
These emails, obtained by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), were part of discovery in a lawsuit filed in May by Missouri and Louisiana Attorneys General Eric Schmitt and Jeff Landry respectively. The complaint alleges a “collusion enterprise” between the federal government and social media companies based on previously revealed internal emails. Judge Terry Doughty ruled in favor of deposing top Biden officials, including former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, current White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and former chief medical advisor to the president Anthony Fauci.
