A recent congressional report has shed light on the Biden-Harris administration's questionable use of $900 million in taxpayer funds to promote a specific narrative about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report alleges that this narrative was designed to keep Americans in a state of fear, compliant with lockdown measures, and supportive of the administration's policies.
According to Gateway Pundit, the report, released by the House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee, reveals that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) used these funds to create emotionally manipulative advertisements. These ads suggested that vaccination was the only path to resuming normal social activities.
However, by the summer of 2024, all HHS campaign materials on YouTube were made private, rendering them inaccessible to the public.
The report criticizes the campaign for overstating the effectiveness of vaccines, exaggerating the risks of COVID-19 to children, and relying on flawed CDC guidance. It also accuses the campaign of promoting false claims that contradicted FDA authorizations, such as the assertion that vaccination would prevent transmission and allow life to return to normal.
These misleading claims, the report argues, enabled private companies to profit immensely.
The committee leaders contend that this campaign not only deceived Americans but also damaged education and the economy by reinforcing lockdown policies. They also argue that it contributed to declining confidence in other vaccines.
Furthermore, they reveal that a portion of the funding was allocated to Big Tech companies for the purpose of tracking and monitoring Americans, raising serious concerns about data privacy.
The report concludes that the "Stop the Spread" campaign undermined trust in the government. Republicans attribute this erosion of trust to the administration's politicized messaging and its suppression of dissenting scientific voices.
The $900 million expenditure represents a significant misuse of taxpayer funds for what seems to be political messaging rather than legitimate public health communication. The report argues that even under the best circumstances, government intervention distorts economic markets.
In this case, it suggests that the Biden administration also distorted the information market, as its centralized messaging campaigns drowned out opposing voices and alternative solutions.
The report also criticizes the funding of Big Tech companies for surveillance activities, describing it as an example of crony capitalism. It argues that taxpayer money was used to enrich large corporations while simultaneously expanding government monitoring capabilities.
This kind of government-business collusion, the report suggests, undermines free speech and hinders both economic and scientific development by silencing dissenting voices.
The report also criticizes social media platforms for censoring doctors, nurses, and anecdotal evidence that challenged official measures. It argues that these platforms promoted voices supporting the administration's line and selectively allowed anecdotal evidence only if it reinforced official policy.
The report further criticizes the government's messaging about vaccines, which it suggests was misleading. It argues that the government claimed vaccination was voluntary, yet repeatedly blamed the unvaccinated for the nation's inability to return to normal.
It suggests that all the government had to do was officially end the emergency and allow life to resume. Instead, citizens were encouraged to pressure or even inform on their neighbors who refused to comply.
The report also criticizes the campaign for causing significant economic damage by reinforcing lockdown policies through misleading messaging. It argues that school closures and business restrictions imposed massive costs on society, particularly harming small businesses and working families.
Meanwhile, certain businesses were allowed to remain open and thrive, with the government deciding which ones were "essential" and which were not.
The report concludes by criticizing the Biden administration's $900 million PR campaign for benefiting the pharmaceutical industry. It reveals that the U.S. government invested at least $31.9 billion in mRNA vaccine research and procurement between 1985 and 2022, with another $29.2 billion spent by BARDA and the Department of Defense on advance purchase commitments for 2 billion doses.
The federal government bought 1.2 billion doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines alone at a cost of $25.3 billion. In return, Moderna and Pfizer generated over $100 billion in global vaccine revenues, while the four major producers, Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, and Sinovac, collectively made $90 billion in profits in just 20212022.
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