Covid disinformation unit was in 'hourly contact' with tech firms

This is my latest video discussing these new revelations.

New revelations about government covert activities. This is my video.

These are the notes I used during the video.

Much of this information comes from a reputable British newspaper;

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/06/09/david-davis-counter-disinformation-unit-shut-down-lockdown/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/09/covid-disinformation-unit-hourly-tech-lockdown-dissent/

Counter Disinformation Unit was and is a branch of the British civil service, this was a secretive government unit.

It’s now clarified role was to flag critics of lockdown and pandemic policy and report them to social media companies.

Counter Disinformation Unit is now under the auspices of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

This is the CDU website today.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counter-disinformation-unit-open-source-information-collection-and-analysis-privacy-notice/counter-disinformation-unit-open-source-information-collection-and-analysis-privacy-notice

However, before 16^th March 2023 the organisation was non-public.

A secretive government Covid unit (CDU),

(A cell within government),

Has been accused of seeking to suppress free speech.

Counter Disinformation Unit was in “hourly” contact with social media firms.

The civil servant in charge was/is Sarah Connolly, throughout the pandemic and now.

(one of her previous previously jobs was working with anti-terror policies for the Home Office).

One of the Counter Disinformation Unit’s main functions was/is “passing information over” to companies such as Facebook and Twitter.

British Members of Parliament were told the Counter Disinformation Unit’s role was to  “encourage the swift takedown” of posts.

For example, CDU worked with social media, to curtail discussion of controversial lockdown policies.

It contacted “almost all” social media platforms, discussions were “daily, sometimes hourly”.

“If somebody from the cell says: ‘We are worried about this, that goes immediately to the top of the pile. Whoever it is in whatever company.”

Counter Disinformation Unit’s “big” function, was/is in “talking to social media platforms and passing information over.

It gets information back from them, and encourages that swift takedown – the swift dealing with the platforms.

The cell (that is the Counter Disinformation Unit) has daily interactions with almost all the platforms”.

David Davis, British MP.

“Early on, during the early part of the Covid pandemic, I began to worry that we weren’t really making decisions on science,”

“A lot of the arguments at the time were not really between science and non-science.

They were between authority and non-authority.” 

“Whitehall is all about control of information. Information is power. They know that so they tend to hoard it for themselves.” 

Mr Davis was himself monitored by the Counter Disinformation Unit cell, and his comments were logged.

Now Mr. Davis calls for the CDU to be shut down, and for a parliamentary committee to investigate what went on.

“most paranoid wing of Government is interfering in the democratic process”

“There would be a limit to what they could do 25 years ago...

The trouble today is we don’t know what the algorithms do. We have no idea what deal they’ve struck with Google or Twitter or whoever. And that’s a really serious influence on debate, not just in Britain, but across the entire world.”

Mr. Davis has asked for a Parliamentary inquiry with the “biggest combination of power, access and speed”.

BBC attended government meetings on ‘misinformation’.

BBC accused of acting as “the broadcast arm of the Government”.

Now, there is growing speculation CDU may have links to British intelligence services.

The Government confirmed last night

Social media firms took action on more than 90% of referrals from the Counter Disinformation Unit.

Deleted posts or used algorithms to make sure a post was not viewed.

In addition there seems to have been another group;

Counter-Disinformation Policy Forum

A group, which included a member of BBC staff, tech companies, academics, lobby groups.

‘Climate of fear’ over anti-Government reporting at BBC

Current and former BBC staff have reported this ‘Climate of fear’.

This was engendered in those who suggested BBC reporting lacked balance. People who disagreed were branded “dissenters”.

CDU takes a broad view of what qualifies as disinformation.

Mrs Connolly, addressing MPs

The most concerning types of anti-vaccine material included discussions about side-effects and the speed of vaccine production.

Connolly took control like a ‘puppeteer’

A revolving door of culture secretaries.

Rapid succession of ministers.

Lack of oversight from No 10 (that is, the Prime Minister’s office)

Government sources complemented Sarah Connelly

“As a hard-working civil servant, she’s an impartial adviser – not a puppeteer,”

Social media posts, CDU and Rapid Response Unit

For example they flagged Dr. Alexandre de Figueiredo, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Alexandre argued against mass vaccination of children against covid.

Questions about CDU

Budget?

Number of workers?

Use of external AI firms?

List of people targeted?

A Government spokesman

“When referrals were made during Covid, over 90% of them were ultimately found to be in breach of terms of service.”

Facebook owner Meta

Does not “allow false claims about the vaccines or vaccination programmes which public health experts have advised us could lead to Covid-19 vaccine rejection.

This includes false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients, development, existence or conspiracies related to the vaccine or vaccination programme”.