Biden’s HHS fights COVID-19 ‘disinformation’ on Hispanic social media with $500K.

The Biden Administration’s Efforts to Combat COVID-19 “Misinformation” and “Disinformation”

The Biden administration is taking action to address the spread of COVID-19 “misinformation” and “disinformation” targeting Hispanics on social media. Records show that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is providing a $500,000 grant to Texas Woman’s University to expand research on mitigating the impact of false information related to COVID-19 prevention and treatment initiatives among Hispanics.

Government Initiatives and Potential Investigations

President Joe Biden has been actively working to combat disinformation, including collaborating with social media companies on content moderation. However, some Republicans have criticized these efforts, equating them to censorship. The grant program, which began in May 2021 and will continue until April 2024, falls under the HHS’s Food and Drug Administration. This allocation of funds may prompt further investigations by GOP lawmakers to gain a better understanding of the administration’s initiatives to suppress certain speech. House Republicans are also seeking to establish budget mandates that would prevent federal agencies from supporting “disinformation” related initiatives in the United States.

HHS’s Ties to Disinformation Tracking

The HHS, under Secretary Xavier Becerra, has faced scrutiny for its involvement in tracking disinformation and misinformation. Documents reveal that agency officials provided guidance to Twitter and Facebook staff in 2021 on combating coronavirus-related content. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also disclosed in an August 2021 call with education groups that the government was working with tech companies to combat misinformation.

“I have no confidence this is anything more than Biden’s HHS spending money we don’t have on government censorship efforts,” said Brian Harrison, former HHS chief of staff under former President Donald Trump and current GOP Texas state House member.

Research Objectives and Analysis

The Texas Woman’s University program funded by the HHS aims to address health disparities and inequitable gaps faced by minorities, particularly Hispanics. The university has been tasked with developing a “social network analysis” to track misinformation consumed by the Hispanic community, conducting focus groups, and completing an economic impact analysis of proposed informational strategies for Hispanics. The study is being conducted in El Paso, Texas, and involves analyzing social media data in both English and Spanish. It will also include the development of a longitudinal misinformation/disinformation index to estimate the impact of false information over time and between ethnic groups.

Concerns and Criticisms

The mention of an “index” by the HHS to track alleged online falsehoods follows previous reports on the State Department’s Global Engagement Center granting funds to the Global Disinformation Index. This British think tank has faced criticism for its covert operation of blacklisting conservative media outlets to advertisers, with the aim of shutting down disfavored websites. While the HHS denies censoring speech, critics argue that the grant represents racial censorship targeting Hispanics.

Mike Benz, former deputy assistant secretary for international communications and information policy at the Trump State Department and current head of the Foundation for Freedom Online, believes the grant is effectively racial censorship targeting. He expressed concerns about the government funding strangers to monitor personal conversations between Spanish-speaking US citizens and censoring Hispanic individuals who hold differing views.

Texas Woman’s University declined to respond to questions regarding the grant, stating that there has likely been limited data gathered to produce findings.

Efforts to Restrict Funding and Concerns about Censorship

Recent reports have highlighted House Republicans’ efforts to prevent taxpayer dollars from supporting programs that they believe censor conservatives. House Small Business Committee Republicans have demanded unredacted grant records from the Global Engagement Center, accusing the federal government of undermining First Amendment principles through proxy censorship. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has expressed support for spending restrictions on agencies, citing concerns about the Disinformation Governance Board, which was shut down by the Department of Homeland Security in August 2022.

The board’s former director, Nina Jankowicz, resigned and filed a lawsuit against Fox News, accusing them of defaming her through critical coverage. Jankowicz faced criticism from conservatives for promoting debunked claims related to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Despite differing opinions, it is clear that the Biden administration’s efforts to combat COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation are generating significant debate and scrutiny.

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