The right-wing Media Research Center recently posted a video about a Project Veritas’ series in which the latter claims to have secretly filmed physicians and government employees criticizing the COVID-19 vaccine. Media Research Center claims that TikTok removed its post.
Media Research says this is an example of “big tech censorship.” (Censorship refers to the government policing speech. It doesn’t apply to private companies.)
Media Research Center describes its mission as “neutralizing leftist bias in the news media and popular culture.”
To that end, the multimillion dollar nonprofit founded by L. Brent Bozell III exposes what it views as prejudice against and censorship of conservative viewpoints. It routinely complains about things like Google rejecting ads for abortion pill reversal and claims social media platforms disproportionately punish Republicans.
On Wednesday, Media Research Center tweeted, “TikTok censored our show exposing Big Tech censorship. They will try to silence us, but we will continue to defend #FreeSpeech.”
TikTok didn’t respond to request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
“This week, we’ll explain to you what happens when big tech censors a show about big tech censorship,” host Tierin-Rose Mandelburg says in the video Media Research Center tweeted.
“…This is the most ironic example yet. The MRC series about censorship was officially censored.”
Mandelburg says that TikTok removed Media Research Center’s video on Facebook taking down a Project Veritas video about the COVID vaccine. “TikTok simply deleted the video and flagged a community guidelines violation,” she says.
In Project Veritas’ video that Facebook supposedly deleted, the right-wing undercover sting operation films a purported physician with the Department of Health and Human Services, seemingly without their knowledge.
The Daily Dot wasn’t able to confirm whether the individual in the video is actually employed with the department. Project Veritas has previously been accused of using phony insiders for its videos. It’s also been accused of doxing and invasion of privacy. Earlier this year, Twitter banned it and founder James O’Keefe.
In the video, the supposed physician appears to blame the vaccine for a patient’s myocarditis and says “they’re not going to blame the vaccine.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, is a rare side effect of the vaccine.
The video doesn’t appear to be available on Project Veritas’ Facebook page.
Project Veritas, where “whistleblowers” turn on their former employers and often receive large paydays, has lately been on an anti-vaccine crusade. Its social media accounts are full of claims about the COVID vaccine’s efficacy, ingredients, and side effects.
Media Research Center’s video about Project Veritas’ anti-vaccine video getting taken down by Facebook remains on its YouTube channel.
“Their goal is to expose what the government and healthcare system are keeping from us regarding the COVID vaccine,” Mandelburg says in the video.
“For as hard as Project Veritas is working to start a vaccine conversation, big tech is working a gazillion times harder to shut it up,” she adds.
She goes on to describe two other videos in Project Veritas’ anti-vax series. One features a purported Food and Drug Administration employee; the other a supposed Johnson & Johnson employee.
Both the videos remain on Project Veritas’ various social media channels.
Mandelburg then asks people to report cases of big tech “censorship” and to follow their content to “help defend our freedom.”