Big Tech

‘We own the science’ remix: YouTube bans health guidance not approved by WHO, local authorities

Like with COVID & climate, Google’s YouTube and the United Nations’ WHO are once again suppressing narratives they don’t like: perspective

When the United Nation’s communications chief last year told the World Economic Forum (WEF), “We own the science […] and the platforms themselves also do,” she was specifically referring to a UN partnership with Google to control the climate narrative.

But now that sentiment is being expanded to favor WHO and local authority guidance on almost all health-related information on YouTube.

This week, YouTube expanded its “medical misinformation policy,” saying that with very few exceptions, “YouTube doesn’t allow […] content that contradicts local health authorities’ (LHAs) or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidance about specific health conditions and substances.”

And to cover its behind just in case so-called misinformation and conspiracy theories turn out to be true, the big tech platform gave itself an immunity clause from itself, stating:

YouTube’s medical misinformation policies are subject to change in response to changes to guidance from health authorities or WHO

“We own the science, and we think that the world should know it, and the platforms themselves also do”

UN Communications Chief Melissa Fleming, World Economic Forum, 2022

It’s the same censorship playbook involving the same players as the climate control narrative.

Speaking on a WEF disinformation panel in September, 2022, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming highlighted that the UN had partnered with big tech companies like TikTok and Google to control health and climate narratives while claiming, “We own the science.”

Fleming also highlighted that the UN worked with TikTok on a project called “Team Halo” to boost COVID messaging coming from medical and scientific communities on the Chinese-owned video sharing platform.

We had another trusted messenger project, which was called ‘Team Halo’ where we trained scientists around the world and some doctors on TikTok, and we had TikTok working with us,” she said.

“We partnered with Google […] if you Google ‘climate change,’ you will, at the top of your search, you will get all kinds of UN resources”

UN Communications Chief Melissa Fleming, World Economic Forum, 2022

On the topic of controlling the climate change narrative, Fleming remarked that the UN had partnered with Google, so that the unelected globalists’ authoritative narratives would appear at the top of search results.

We partnered with Google,” said Fleming, adding, “for example, if you Google ‘climate change,’ you will, at the top of your search, you will get all kinds of UN resources.

We started this partnership when we were shocked to see that when we Googled ‘climate change,’ we were getting incredibly distorted information right at the top.

We’re becoming much more proactive. We own the science, and we think that the world should know it, and the platforms themselves also do,” she added.

“Another really key strategy we had was to deploy influencers […] and they were much more trusted than the United Nations”

UN Communications Chief Melissa Fleming, World Economic Forum, 2022

The UN global communications rep went on to admit that people didn’t trust institutions like the UN when it came to information related to COVID, and so to counter this, the UN looked to influencers to get its messaging across through the backdoor.

Another really key strategy we had was to deploy influencers,” she said, adding, “influencers who were really keen, who have huge followings, but really keen to help carry messages that were going to serve their communities, and they were much more trusted than the United Nations telling them something from New York City headquarters.”

The idea of infiltrating and subverting online groups from within by targeting influencers mirrors recommendations coming out of a Google-backed RAND report published in April, 2021.

According to the report’s policy recommendations:

“Conspiracists have their own experts on whom they lean to support and strengthen their views […] One alternative approach could be to direct outreach toward moderate members of those groups who could, in turn, exert influence on the broader community […]
“It might be possible to convey key messages to those who are only ‘vaccine hesitant,’ and these individuals might, in turn, relay such messages to those on antivaccination social media channels”

Google-backed RAND report, 2021

The UN claims to own the science, but if we take a closer look at who funds the UN’s “directing and coordinating authority on international health” — the World Health Organization — we get a clearer picture of who is really calling the shots.

Before becoming director of the WHO in 2017, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was Ethiopia’s Minister of Health from 2005-2012.

Between 2000 and 2012, which accounts for Dr. Tedros’s entire tenure as the country’s health minister, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation poured more than $265 million into health and development grants in Ethiopia, including to the Gates-backed GAVI vaccine alliance.

The Gates Foundation, along with GAVI, have together contributed more to the Tedros-run WHO program budget than all member nations, apart from the US and the UK.

Who owns the science again?


Image by jordy_pp on Freepik

Tim Hinchliffe

The Sociable editor Tim Hinchliffe covers tech and society, with perspectives on public and private policies proposed by governments, unelected globalists, think tanks, big tech companies, defense departments, and intelligence agencies. Previously, Tim was a reporter for the Ghanaian Chronicle in West Africa and an editor at Colombia Reports in South America. These days, he is only responsible for articles he writes and publishes in his own name. tim@sociable.co

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