CDC Amends Public Comments Policy Amid Censorship Lawsuit (Connecting the Dots: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), The Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), The CDC Foundation, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) & Soros Funding, All Networking)
The
federal health agency will no longer prohibit posts with what it deems
’misleading‘ or ’demonstrably false' information.
The
Epoch Times
By
Samantha Flom
11/26/2024
Updated:11/26/2024
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on May 21, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/cdc-amends-public-comments-policy-amid-censorship-lawsuit-5766551
A
webpage detailing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s policy for
moderating public comments has been revised amid litigation accusing the agency
of censorship.
The
webpage outlines
the CDC’s
“Guidelines for Public Comments” on its websites, social media profiles, blogs,
and applications. It also states that comments found to violate agency policy
may be hidden or removed.
Last
updated on Nov. 25, the policy prohibits comments that contain personally
identifiable information; threats of harm or violence; profanity, nudity,
obscenity, or vulgarity; or the explicit promotion of commercial products or
services.
However,
an archived
version of the page shows that the list has been winnowed down since
February, when it also barred “misleading or false information,” defamation,
name-calling or personal attacks, comments that infringe on copyrights, and
spam.
Notably,
a similar version of the initial list appeared on the CDC’s website as recently
as Nov. 23.
At that point, the only meaningful change since February was that “misleading
or false information” had been revised to read “demonstrably false
information.”
Heralding
the revisions as “great news” in an X post, attorney Aaron Siri attributed them
to the lawsuit he filed in July on behalf of independent journalist Lindsay
Jones.
“Our
lawsuit, supported by [Informed Consent Action Network], not only resulted in
CDC unblocking people across X, it has now also resulted in CDC changing its
rules to no longer block users for claimed ‘misleading or false information,’”
Siri wrote.
The
Epoch Times contacted the CDC for comment but received no reply by publication
time.
The
complaint,
filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges
that the CDC’s decision to block Jones on the X platform violated her First
Amendment rights.
“This
case presents the unfortunate and increasingly common scenario wherein
thin-skinned governmental agencies and representatives are unconstitutionally
blocking American constituents’ access to governmental social media profiles
used to provide the public updates and policy discussions, and a forum for
discussion on updates and policies, based on viewpoints that disagree with the
governmental update or policy,” the filing states.
According
to the complaint, Jones first became aware that she had been blocked on or
around Dec. 16, 2023, after publishing several popular posts that challenged
CDC policies and statements surrounding different vaccines.
The
lawsuit states that the blocking was in retaliation for Jones’s criticism and
constituted an act of viewpoint discrimination. It seeks an injunction
declaring the CDC’s actions and public comments policy unconstitutional.
The
Department of Justice has yet to file a
response with the court, though the CDC has since unblocked Jones on X.
“My
lawsuit is still moving forward since they’ve shown they can block American
citizens at any time for simply pointing out factual inaccuracies or
inconvenient truths in their social media posts,” Jones wrote on X on Aug.
27.
“The
1st Amendment is worth fighting for.”
Connecting
the Dots:
Frances Fragos Townsend was a
counsel to the attorney general, assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern
District for the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) and is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for
the Open Society Foundations.
Robert Jeffrey is a
director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank)
and was a board member for the CDC Foundation.
CDC Foundation is
a foundation for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
Amy Robbins
Towers is a board member for the CDC Foundation, was a
director at the Millennium Promise, a director at the Human
Rights Watch and married to Larry Robbins.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Millennium
Promise, the Human Rights Watch and the Robin Hood
Foundation.
George Soros was the chairman
for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a benefactor for
the Human Rights Watch.
Larry Robbins is
a director at the Robin Hood Foundation and was married to Amy
Robbins Towers.
Emma Bloomberg was
the chief of staff for the Robin Hood Foundation, Michael
R. Bloomberg’s daughter, and is a director at the Bloomberg
Family Foundation.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation, is Emma
Bloomberg’s father and the founder of the Bloomberg Family
Foundation.
Bloomberg
Family Foundation was a funder for the CDC Foundation.
Bloomberg
Philanthropies is an umbrella organization for the Bloomberg
Family Foundation and was a funder for the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative.
Jeffrey P. Koplan is
a board member for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and was
a director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC Foundation is
a foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Robert Jeffrey was
a board member for the CDC Foundation and is a director at
the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder
for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for
the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Millennium
Promise.
Frances
Fragos Townsend is a director at the Atlantic Council of the
United States (think tank) and was a counsel to the attorney general,
assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District for the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ).
Jimmy Carter was
an honorary co-chairman for the Millennium Promise and is a
co-founder & trustee at the Carter Center.
Donald R. Hopkins is
the VP, health programs for the Carter Center and was a board
member for the CDC Foundation.
CDC Foundation is
a foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Amy Robbins
Towers is a board member for the CDC Foundation, was a
director at the Millennium Promise, a director at the Human
Rights Watch and married to Larry Robbins.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Millennium
Promise, the Human Rights Watch and the Robin Hood
Foundation.
George Soros was the chairman for
the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a benefactor for
the Human Rights Watch.
Larry Robbins is
a director at the Robin Hood Foundation and was married to Amy
Robbins Towers.
Resources:
Past Research
FEC
Chair: DOJ Abused Power Over Musk's $1M Giveaways (Connecting the Dots: The
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), The American Constitution Society, The
Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank) & Soros Funding, All
Networking) (Past Research on the U.S. Department
of Justice (DOJ))
Thursday,
November 14, 2024
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2024/11/fec-chair-doj-abused-power-over-musks.html
The
CDC: A Truly Corrupt and Dangerous Organization (Past
Research on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))
Tuesday,
January 5, 2016
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