Name: States Cite 1,400 Facts in Missouri v. Biden Big Tech Censorship Collusion Case
Uploaded: 2023-03-07T17:49:00.000Z
Description: Two state attorneys general filed a motion in a free speech lawsuit on Monday, citing more than 1,400 facts from internal government documents, to prevent Biden administration officials from colluding with social media companies to censor users.

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

From Operations Inherent Resolve to Epic Fury, Iran Significantly Degraded: Analyst

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Significant Escalation of CCP Persecution of Falun Dafa in the US: Report

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Rubio in Philippines for Regional Talks

Taiwan President Urges His Party to Oppose China’s ‘Red Terror’

‘It Felt Like the Field Was Tilted’ With Spain’s Dominance Over Argentina: Analyst

Canadians Mark 27 Years of Persecution of Falun Gong With Rallies Across the Country

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

Lawmakers Support Falun Gong on Anniversary of Persecution in China

Health News

FDA Says Taylor Farms Cyclospora Finding Was a False Positive

Rep. Ralph Norman Announces Bid for Lindsey Graham’s Senate Seat

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

US Military Identifies 2 Soldiers Killed in Jordan by Iranian Strikes

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 20)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 17)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 16)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 14)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 10)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 9)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 8)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 7)

Tom Gantert is a reporter for The Epoch Times.

Tom Gantert

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Trump Uses Recent Speeches to Warn Americans of Resurging Communism

NTD+ is a streaming platform featuring exclusive programming, investigative news analysis, and award-winning documentaries.


NTD+

Shorts

Alleged Reflecting Pool Vandalism Caught on Video

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

Shows

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

2.8 Million People in China Evacuated Amid Typhoon Bavi

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Iran's Football Team Leaves Note of Friendship

Melanie is a reporter and editor covering world news. She has a background in environmental research.

Melanie Sun

State News

California

California Governor, LA Mayor Declare Emergency Over Warehouse Fire

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Congress

House Passes Legislation to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Sen. Lindsey Graham Likely Died After Aorta Tear, Medical Examiner Says

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. 

Jack Phillips

Andrew Thomas is a reporter for NTD News primarily covering business, the economy, and technology. 

Andrew Thomas

World News

Middle East

UN Maritime Group to Rescue 11,000 Sailors Stranded in Middle East

Mary Man is a writer for NTD. She has traveled around the world covering China, international news, and arts and culture.

Mary Man

China News

China Floods: Thousands at Risk After Multiple Dams Collapse in Guangxi

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Iran

US, Iran Launch New Strikes; Trump Warns Ceasefire May Collapse

Two state attorneys general filed a motion in a free speech lawsuit on Monday, citing more than 1,400 facts from internal government documents, to prevent Biden administration officials from colluding with social media companies to censor users.

“This case involves some of the most egregious First Amendment violations in American history,” Attorneys General Andrew Bailey of Louisiana and Jeff Landry of Missouri argue in their motion (<a href="https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/212-2-preliminary-injunction-motion.pdf?sfvrsn=3d465d71_2">pdf</a>).

Their lawsuit, Missouri v. Biden, accuses senior officials from the White House and several federal agencies of a widespread and unconstitutional campaign to censor disfavored speech and viewpoints on social media platforms.

In the motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, the attorneys argue that federal officials from the White House and several other agencies used “pressure, threats, coercion, cajoling, collusion, demands, and trickery and deceit” to influence the Big Tech platforms to censor users.

“The proof of this sprawling federal ‘Censorship Enterprise’ is voluminous and overwhelming,” they add.

The attorneys general say the internal government documents they received outline 1,432 facts showing how federal officials allegedly coerced and collaborated with Big Tech companies to stifle debate and criticism of government policy on social media about some of the most pressing issues of our time.

“This case is the most important free speech lawsuit in a generation, as we highlight more than 1,400 facts showing the Biden Administration’s blatant coercion and collusion with Big Tech social media companies to suppress speech it disagrees with,” Bailey said in a <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2023/03/06/missouri-attorney-general-andrew-bailey-asks-court-to-block-biden-from-violating-americans-1st-amendment-rights-citing-1-400-facts">statement</a>. “I will not rest until the court blocks unelected bureaucrats from violating our constitutional right to free and open debate.”
<h2>Internal Federal Documents</h2>
Summarizing critical points from nearly 400 pages (<a href="https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/212-3-proposed-findings-of-fact.pdf?sfvrsn=739f8cbf_2">pdf</a>) proposing facts to support their injunction, the attorneys general argue that internal government documents show that federal officials and agencies, including White House officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), allegedly pressured social media platforms to censor disfavored viewpoints.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is accused of orchestrating a campaign to induce social media platforms to censor particular views. The FBI is also alleged to have deceived social media platforms into censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story. The Election Integrity Partnership and the Virality Project are also said to monitor and censor large amounts of Americans’ words on social media.

The court filings name White House officials such as Rob Flaherty, Andrew Slavitt, and Jennifer Psaki as having allegedly pressured social media platforms to censor frowned-upon viewpoints. It also accuses Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and his staff of allegedly coordinating closely with the White House in this pressure campaign.

The CDC is accused of flagging specific social media posts for censorship and organizing BOLO (be on the lookout) meetings to tell platforms what should be censored. The attorneys general say the CDC acted “as the definitive fact-checker with final authority to dictate exactly what speech will be removed from social media.”

Further, Dr. Anthony Fauci allegedly orchestrated “an elaborate campaign of trickery and deception” to induce social media platforms to censor the COVID-19 lab leak theory and other viewpoints he disfavors.

The FBI is also accused of deliberately planting false information about a “hack-and-leak” operation to deceive social media platforms into censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story.
<h2>‘Overwhelming Evidence’ of Collusion</h2>
According to the attorneys general, the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) allegedly collaborated with social media platforms in hundreds of meetings to flag large amounts of First Amendment-protected speech for censorship.

State and local governments also allegedly reported misinformation to CISA, which the agency is accused of relaying to platforms for censorship.

Further, according to the attorneys general, enormous volumes of Americans’ speech on social media were allegedly monitored, tracked, and censored via the Election Integrity Partnership, a collaboration between the government, platforms, and activist nonprofits. This is along with the Virality Project, which is accused of pushing for the censorship of large quantities of First Amendment-protected speech.

“The overwhelming evidence is clear: the highest levels of our federal government are suppressing the First Amendment rights of Americans who have opposing views,” Landry said in a statement. “This egregious and unlawful viewpoint censorship by the White House, FBI, CDC, CISA, and other agencies not only chills speech, but it also unjustly inflicts grave and irreparable injuries on citizens and states, whose duty it is to protect their fundamental rights.”

Missouri v. Biden was filed on May 5, 2022, and the attorneys filed a motion for discovery on June 17, 2022, granted on July 12, 2022, allowing them to gather discovery and documents from the Biden administration and social media companies.

They have deposed top-ranking officials in the federal government under oath, including Fauci, FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan, and Eric Waldo of the Surgeon General’s Office, among others.

Bailey and Landry told the court that the federal government’s censorship activities constitute a “gargantuan federal ‘Censorship Enterprise.'”

“This enterprise is highly effective—it has stifled debate and criticism of government policy on social media about some of the most pressing issues of our time. And its activities are flagrantly unconstitutional,” the attorneys general say in the motion.

The Epoch Times contacted the White House for comment but has not received a reply before this article was published.

Videos

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Big tech

Anthony Fauci

lab leak theory

Jeff Landry

Caden Pearson is a reporter covering U.S. and world news.

Caden Pearson

Courts

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.

States Cite 1,400 Facts in Missouri v. Biden Big Tech Censorship Collusion Case

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 20)

Chris Beers is an NTD News anchor and political correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Chris co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Chris Beers

News with integrity, from the United States and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 19)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 17)

Special Coverage

[LIVE July 23 at 11:30 AM ET] 2026 Rally and March to End the Persecution of Falun Dafa

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 17)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 16)

Tiffany Meier is an anchor, China news investigative reporter, and producer for NTD News based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Tiffany anchors NTD's flagship shows "NTD Evening News" and "China in Focus" and co-moderates NTD's special election coverage "The Nation Decides." She produced the award-winning NTD Original documentary "Hollywood Takeover: China's Control in the Film Industry."


Tiffany Meier

NTD Special Coverage: Trump Addresses the Nation

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 16)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.