White House pressed Facebook to censor Tucker Carlson, document reveals

The Biden administration was ordered to turn over communications between officials and tech companies in July.

Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson speaking with attendees at the 2020 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

(Daily Caller News Foundation) — The White House pressed Facebook to censor Fox News host Tucker Carlson for saying “vaccines” “don’t work,” according to a document released by Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry of Louisiana.

“Since we’ve been on the phone — the top post about vaccines today is [T]ucker Carlson saying they don’t work. Yesterday it was Tomi Lehren [sic] saying she won’t take one,” White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty reportedly said in an April 14, 2021 email to an unidentified Facebook employee, which was posted on Twitter by Landry.

Landry along with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued the Biden administration in federal court on May 5, claiming that members of the administration colluded with social media companies to suppress debate on the 2020 presidential election, the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. The court ordered the Biden administration to turn over communications between officials and the tech companies in July.

“This is exactly why I want to know what ‘Reduction’ actually looks like — if ‘reduction’ means ‘pumping our most vaccine hesitant audience with [T]ucker Carlson saying it doesn’t work’ then … I’m not sure it’s reduction!” Flaherty continued in the document released by Landry.

In response, the unidentified Facebook employee reportedly told Flaherty that they were “running this down now,” according to the document posted by Landry.

Landry’s post did not note how the document was obtained.

Facebook, Carlson and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

 

Harold Hutchison