The following article is a supplement to the MRC Report: The Biden Administration Waged War on Free Speech with 57 Censorship Initiatives.
Initiative #21
The Book Ban
Type of Censorship: Direct Action
Agencies Involved:
- Executive Office of the President
- American Rescue Team
Summary:
White House Senior Advisor for the COVID-19 Response Andy Slavitt aggressively pressured Amazon to ban books critical of the government’s position on vaccination and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the New York Post. He also insisted Facebook (now Meta) and Twitter (now X) censor several of President Joe Biden’s critics, including Alex Berenson and Tucker Carlson. Slavitt threatened Facebook to get it to silence Biden’s opponents, accusing the platform of aiding “insurrection” and remarking “internally, we have been considering our options on what to do.”
Key Individuals:
- Andy Slavitt, White House Senior Advisor for the COVID-19 Response
