Morning Wire - Doctors Sue Over Covid Censorship | 8.20.22

Episode Date: August 20, 2022

A group of doctors has filed a lawsuit against several big tech companies over Covid censorship, colleges mandate diversity, equity and inclusion training for students, dating trends are shifting among singles in the U.S. amid pandemic and economic changes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group of doctors are suing big tech companies, Twitter, Google, and Facebook, alleging they worked with the government to censor criticism of federal and state COVID policies. We discussed the politically charged First Amendment case. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Saturday, August 20th, and this is Morning Wire. Is your child headed to college this fall? If so, he or she will almost certainly encounter diversity, equity, and inclusion. training. A new report looks at trends in orientation materials at hundreds of public universities.

And dating trends are shifting among singles in the U.S. as the pandemic and the economy impact social habits. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. One of the best things you can do to prepare for the unknown is to have a will in place. If you're a parent, a will gives you the power to decide who will raise your kids should something happen to you and your spouse. Do yourself a favor. Go to epicwill.com and use promo code wire to save 10% on Epicwill's complete will package. It's incredibly easy and well worth $119 to secure your family's future. Go to epicwill.com and use promo code Wire today.

A group of doctors has filed a lawsuit against several big tech companies. They claim that Twitter, Google, and Facebook worked with the government to censor criticism of federal and state COVID policies in violation of the First Amendment. Daily Wire culture reporter, Megan Basham, joins us. us now to give us more information on the lawsuit who's involved and what the outcomes might be. So, Megan, to start, who is bringing this suit and on what grounds? Yeah, so the case is the state of Missouri v. Joseph R. Biden, and it involves a group of prominent physicians and epidemiologists who are critical of the government's restrictive COVID policies. Think about things like lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccine mandates.

Well, we talked to Kara Frederick, who is director of the tech policy. Center at the Heritage Foundation. And we asked her just how credentialed the members of this group bringing the suit, and they're, by the way, known as the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Just how credentialed they are. Here's what she said. These aren't just your quacks who are operating on the internet, you know, trying to make a buck or anything like that. These are legitimate doctors with legitimate degrees. They were not just people who are coming off the streets and saying this is what I think. Now, this is not just legitimate. doctors we need to note, but in several instances, we're actually talking about Ivy League

trained experts in their fields. And they made Freedom of Information Act requests related to the White House's public 2021 statements about working with big tech to suppress COVID misinformation. You may remember White House Press Secretary Jen Saki talking about that. Well, as a result of those FOIA requests, they claim they have emails and documentation that can prove that the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security asked Google, Twitter, and Facebook to take down certain social media posts and to also suspend certain accounts for questioning those COVID policies. So the lawsuit is arguing that at that point, these companies were no longer acting just as private entities. They were effectively acting as arms of the government. If that's true, that would be

unconstitutional. And I'll quote from just a bit of New Civil Liberties Alliances press release on that. Here's what they said. This insidious censorship was the direct result of the federal government's ongoing campaign to silence those who voice perspectives that deviate from those of the Biden administration. Government officials' public threats to punish social media companies that did not do their bidding demonstrate this linkage. Now, what if these tech companies, though, were acting of their own volition and not because of government pressure? Yeah, that's a good question, Georgia. And, part of the Communications Decency Act known as Section 230 does give Big Tech a lot of special protection from civil liability in that case. So here's what Frederick told us about that.

If they're only making that one decision from the bottom of their hearts and not with government pressure, then that's what they're going to argue. But the fact that the government is actually flagging and pressuring them to remove the speech and sort of being the prime mover in this. regard, I think it's a little bit different. So she guesses that is likely the defense that we're going to see. Now, has that argument been tested in court before? Now, I remember Big Tech was taking down a lot of posts and videos at the height of COVID. Are we seeing any similar lawsuits that we can look at? Yeah, so Frederick cited another case that's currently working its way through the courts that could have some bearing on this one. It involves conservative commentator Rogan O'Hanley. Now, O'Hanley,

alleges that California officials pressured Twitter to flag his tweets and suspend his account. So again, something that would clearly violate the First Amendment if his claim is accurate. Here's Frederick. The office of the Secretary of State in California was flagging specific tweets containing specific forms of information they considered disinformation to Twitter and Twitter eventually started to scrutinize this particular user. So we don't know where that's going to end up, I think people are starting to recognize that this is a pattern of government pressure on big tech companies that appear to pick up during the pandemic and really hasn't abated. So if either of these suits should be successful, that could have some pretty significant impact on those Section 230 protections that Big Tech does currently enjoy.

Megan, thanks for reporting. That was Daily Wire Culture reporter, Megan Basham. Coming up, diversity, equity, and inclusion training sweeps through college campuses. Hey there, producer Colton here. Do you like to be the first to know about trendy news and current events? If so, you got to get the Daily Wire Plus app. Not only will you receive mobile notifications whenever something's happening, but you'll also have access to the best commentary to break it all down.

Download the Daily Wire Plus app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you. A new report shows that the vast majority of incoming freshmen will undergo diversity, equity, and inclusion training upon arrival on campus. DEI training is controversial with parents and professors who say it's politically oriented and stifles free speech on campus. Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty, is here with the details for us. So, Marade, where is this new report from and what did it find? Hey, Georgia, the report comes from Speech First, a free speech group. They obtained freshman orientation materials from 51 public universities through Freedom of Information Act requests.

The group noted that the information was difficult to obtain, and it took a year and many requests to gain cooperation from the schools, so some of this data is from 2021. The report shows that as soon as freshman students set foot on campus, the vast majority will encounter diversity, equity, and inclusion, otherwise known as DEI training. According to the report, out of the 51 public universities, 91% of the freshman orientation materials discussed DEI in one form or another. Meanwhile, less than a third of the materials mentioned free speech or viewpoint diversity. Of the 91% of orientation materials that referenced DEI, 27% mentioned bias, 22% mentioned actual DEI training, 20% mentioned discrimination, 11% mentioned racial equity, 9% mentioned anti-racism, another 9% mentioned microaggressions, and 2% mentioned trigger warnings.

Meanwhile, the actual quantity of content referencing DEI themes overwhelmed outpaced the amount of content referencing free speech and viewpoint diversity. For example, the report found that schools had seven times more DEI-themed video material than on free speech or viewpoint diversity. Now, when you say orientation materials that referenced DEI themes, what does that actually look like in practice? Yeah, one example is Northern Kentucky University, which encouraged students to attend a drag show and went into detail about microaggressions.

One orientation video said, quote, if you have not been to a drag show yet, we are going to make sure you have that opportunity. The same orientation videos said that asking someone, where are you from, is a microaggression, as is the phrase, I don't see race. The video also said that having black friends or gay friends does not exempt a person from having to, quote,

work on your microaggressions. At the State University of New York at New Paltz, students are required to take an implicit bias test to discover their own internal racism or bias. The implicit association test makes students match faces of different skin colors with negative and positive words, objects, and weapons. Another test makes students match negative and positive words with different gender identities. It should be noted that implicit bias tests have not been shown to accurately predict biased actions or attitudes, but they have remained popular as a training technique in many settings regardless.

The report also flagged that the implicit bias tests are hosted on a Harvard University website and the organization behind the tests has a presence at many other universities. Some universities like the University of California at Irvine encourage their freshman students to take the same implicit bias test, but it's not required. Now, part of the concern with these trainings is that they may make kids feel like they're walking on eggshells. I know we've reported in the past that self-censorship is a major issue with professors. How pervasive is it among students? It's a big problem. Last year, one study found that,

more than 80% of college students in the U.S. self-censor their own opinions at their schools. Another alarming statistic, about two-thirds of college students, say it's acceptable to shout down a speaker on campus. Nearly a quarter of college students say it's acceptable to use violence to halt certain speech. That's according to one study from fire. Well, that's concerning. Marade, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. That was Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.

Dating trends are shifting in. in the U.S. as singles opt for cheaper and choosier dates. The pandemic, the economy, and a changing cultural landscape are having a prolonged effect on how people are looking for love. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire's Charlotte Penn's Bond. So, Charlotte, what can you tell us about dating trends and dating behavior right now? Well, one of the biggest changes is alcohol, or more precisely, the absence of alcohol. A recent survey found that over a third of the people using the dating app hinge are more willing

to go on a sober date now than a year before. This is especially obvious among young people using the app. 31% of 18 to 24-year-olds using Hinge say they don't drink on their dates. Same for the app Tinder. From 2020 to 2021, references to sober went up 26% in members' dating profiles. And this year, it's up another 22%. Beach and Picnic mentions also went up from the start of this year, which might mean that people are more interested in outdoor dates

rather than meeting at bars. The non-drinking aspect of dating might be stemming from the pandemic and alcohol recovery programs that a lot of people got into after lockdowns shifted their habits. When people returned to normal life, a lot of them noticed a potential problem

with their drinking habits and took action to fix it. Well, and going to the beach or going on a picnic is also a lot cheaper than buying drinks. How much of this has to do with the economy? That's definitely a consideration. Dating can be expensive,

and there's evidence single people are trying to be more economical with their dating habits. Out of 3,000 people on Hinge, nearly 41% said they were more worried about how much dating costs now versus last year. OKCupid, another dating site, found that 34% of 70,000 users said inflation was affecting their dating life. Money is also impacting who people are attracted to. OK, Qupid users who say they stick to a budget got 16% more matches and 7% more likes over

three months than those who said they didn't. And according to Matches' most recent singles in America survey, which includes 5,000 Americans ages 18 to 75, 86% of singles want a partner with the same or higher income. That's up from 70% in 2019. So it sounds like people are looking for financial security. Right. It also seems that people are interested in a more serious form of dating. They're looking for the one. The same report also found that more people are prioritizing someone who is emotionally mature over a person who is attractive physically. People are being more open about what they want early in a relationship. A Mashable report suggests that since the pandemic, dates have also included more intense discussions,

which has continued into this year. So maybe this is the beginning of the end for hookup culture. I think a lot of young people hope it is. All right, well, Charlotte, thanks for bringing us the story. Thanks for having me on. That's Daily Wires, Charlotte Pence Bond. Other stories we're tracking this week, a school board. in Wisconsin voted to support a policy that would ban employees for exhibiting messages deemed

political like gay pride flags and we back the badge signs. Rudy Giuliani testified in front of a Georgia grand jury for six hours on Wednesday. Details of his testimony are protected, but Giuliani's lawyers say it had gone smoothly. Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren has filed a lawsuit against Ron DeSantis, claiming his removal by the governor in early August was political retaliation. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.

If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend. Well, that's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.