Federal government documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) reveal the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) engaged in extensive social media censorship and surveillance during the 2022 midterm elections. The Biden-Harris government censorship program saw the FBI’s National Election Command Post (NECP) create a list of social media users they flagged as spreading “misinformation.”
Subsequently, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) sent “preservation letters” to social media companies requesting user information be preserved ahead of potential legal action. Among the accounts targeted by the FBI for further action and investigation during the midterms was Right Side Broadcasting Network, which streams former President Donald J. Trump‘s campaign events in their entirety.
According to the files and communications obtained by AFL, the lists generated by the FBI included foreign threats, known Internet hackers, and accounts they viewed as having potentially violated election laws. The last was the case with Right Side Broadcasting Network.
An Inspector General report indicates the Biden-Harris DOJ and FBI likely used legal processes to compel cooperation from social media companies—forcing them to hand over user data and other evidence.
The National Pulse reported in June that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives subpoenaed the Biden-Harris Department of State, requesting records on programs aimed to foster “censorship-by-proxy and revenue interference of American small businesses.”
Lawmakers allege that the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) has used federal grants to fund groups like the London-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which targets advertisers on conservative media platforms.