Hoo boy.
This is some important news and more examples of how the Left happily uses corporations to circumvent that pesky Constitution (and how corporations happily oblige).
Rep. Jim Jordan brings you the 'Amazon Files', and here's the entire thread:
THE AMAZON FILES – “feeling pressure from the White House”
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
Internal docs subpoenaed by @JudiciaryGOP & @Weaponization indicate that @amazon bowed down to Biden White House pressure to censor BOOKS.
🧵 Thread:
Never-before-released internal emails subpoenaed by @JudiciaryGOP reveal that the Biden White House pressured Amazon to censor books that expressed views the White House did not approve of.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
“Is the [Biden] Admin asking us to remove books”? pic.twitter.com/ZsAN9BZAcX
Andy Slavitt—the senior Biden White House official who demanded that Facebook censor a meme and true information—was pressuring Amazon at the same time.https://t.co/vOgRkBNFmW
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
On March 2, 2021, Slavitt fired off an email demanding to know who he and his White House colleagues could talk to at the company about “the high levels of propaganda and misinformation and disinformation of [sic] Amazon?” pic.twitter.com/aWSMp3aSOc
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
And this is how the White House decided what books it didn't like:
How did the Biden White House conclude that there was “propaganda and misinformation” in books sold in Amazon’s bookstore?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
The White House ran keyword searches for controversial topics, such as “vaccine,” and emailed Amazon when it didn’t like how the search results appeared: pic.twitter.com/FmVYPJQR6n
Recommended
Just incredible.
Initially, Amazon decided to hold off on “doing a manual intervention” to censor books.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
Why? Not out of any commitment to free speech, but because doing so would be “too visible” to the American public and likely to spur criticism from conservative media. pic.twitter.com/166wXiPsha
Why was the Biden White House so upset with Amazon?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
Because Amazon believed “retailers are different than social media communities” & provided their “customers with access to a variety of viewpoints.”
For the Biden Admin, letting Americans think for themselves was unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/tKjBTesZoU
Oh no! Not a variety of viewpoints!
The. Horror.
A week later, on March 9, 2021, Amazon met with the White House.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
Internal Amazon documents reveal Amazon’s “top talking points” going into the meeting.
One of the key questions was whether the Biden White House wanted books banned or just buried deep in the search results: pic.twitter.com/wnWj9eCyJf
So how did Amazon’s meeting with the Biden White House go?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
On March 2, 2021, Amazon determined internally that it would “not be doing a manual intervention today.”
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
The online bookstore set a meeting with senior Biden White House officials for March 9, 2021.
What was the purpose of this meeting with the Biden White House?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
To see if “the Admin is asking us to remove books, or are they more concerned about search results/order (or both)?” pic.twitter.com/I8qd3WCeY4
Why did Amazon agree to take this meeting? Because they were “feeling pressure from the White House” pic.twitter.com/n7Xe0D5lhH
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
After the White House spent a week berating Amazon, what did the online bookstore do?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
Starting March 9—the same day as its meeting with the White House—Amazon enabled “Do Not Promote” for books that expressed the view that vaccines were not effective. pic.twitter.com/8YEXjAL8BD
And that wasn’t all. Amazon also considered other ways “to reduce the visibility” of certain books that the Biden White House disliked. pic.twitter.com/q9JC1LYb5m
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
That’s right.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
Amazon caved to the pressure from the Biden White House to censor speech. @JudiciaryGOP and @Weaponization are investigating.https://t.co/P1hlB3c5WO
The Left complains about book bans. That don't exist.
This is a violation of the First Amendment.
And democrats whine about inappropriate books that they want to have remain available to young kids in public schools. Meanwhile this democrat administration is actually trying to limit books adults can purchase.
— lsfletcher (@lsfletcher21) February 6, 2024
Actual book bans. Actual censorship.
At the behest of the Biden White House.
bullying amazon employees because "i don't see any CDC warning" on the books they were selling is truly dystopian stuff https://t.co/GKpxMlrubx
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) February 6, 2024
Very dystopian.
Heads need to roll for this. This is illegal and unconstitutional. Prison time for all involved. https://t.co/ysRIy7VetV
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) February 6, 2024
But we all know nothing will happen.
It’s not conservatives who ban books, it’s the Biden admin, using compliant, ‘captured’ corporations as lackeys. https://t.co/J7E6uQRSbX
— Mary Rice Hasson (@maryricehasson) February 6, 2024
A while ago, the Left figured out they could use corporations to violate our Constitutional rights.
And are getting away with it.
Imagine the government going into a book store and asking what they’re going to do about the books at the front of the store that the government doesn’t approve of. https://t.co/G2ask0Yp0G
— Megan Larimer (@MeganLarimer) February 5, 2024
If any politician other than a Democrat did this, they'd be removed from office.
Biden won't be.
This is what actual "book banning" looks like. As usual, the accusation is actually projection. https://t.co/HnbmXxMsDb
— Contra Declinationem (@contradecline) February 6, 2024
100% projection.
To be continued…
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2024
We hope there are consequences, but are not optimistic.
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