Legislation that would use federal agencies to “nudge” social media platforms to reduce the spread of “harmful content” isn’t going anywhere in the waning days of the 117th Congress.
As evidenced by the ongoing release of the “Twitter Files,” however, that’s no impediment to the government — and the research universities that so heavily depend on federal funding — enlisting Big Tech to promote favored narratives and throttle competing arguments on contentious topics.
Federal agencies and U.S. universities together have funded or sponsored a dozen studies mentioning Facebook and COVID-19, according to the National Institutes of Health’s ClinicalTrials.gov database .
While some concern behaviors and health outcomes affected by the early pandemic, such as ways to increase cancer screening and “help-seeking behavior” for mental health problems, others promote government-approved messages on COVID interventions such as vaccines, testing, mask-wearing and social distancing.NIH, for instance, funded studies targeting the Oregon Latino community as well […]
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