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March 13, 2022 - Epoch Times

17:06

3 Transcripts Reveal COLLUSION to Censor Joe Rogan Between White House, Media, Big Tech

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	This is your daily Facts Matter Update, and I'm your host, Roman, from the Epoch Times.
	And now let's begin today's discussion by talking about government censorship.
	So, as many of you are likely already aware, Joe Rogan, who hosts one of the most popular, if not the most popular, podcasts on the planet, he is currently facing some severe backlash from most of the establishment players.
	Now, generally, with the decline in the number of people who actually watch the legacy news outlets, Combined with a steady increase in the number of people tuning in to listen to podcasts, specifically to Joe Rogan's podcast, well, perhaps the pressure has been mounting for a while now.
	Here is, for instance, a graphic which took data from Q3 of last year from both the Nielsen ratings as well as from Spotify, and it clearly shows that, on average, an episode of the Joe Rogan experience gets an order of magnitude more viewers than either Fox, MSNBC, CNN, and so on.
	And when you're looking at that chart, by the way, it's also worth noting that an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience is about typically three hours long, whereas those other programs are typically between 20 to 40 minutes long.
	And so then, obviously, more and more people are tuning into him and watching his show for a longer length of time.
	And you would imagine that since Joe Rogan's podcast is quite literally just unfiltered conversations with different people who have different perspectives, well, the American news media would love it.
	It is, from a certain perspective, the very meaning of American free speech and American free press.
	And given the fact that he has on there people from all spectrums of the political compass, from Tulsi Gabbard to Candace Owens, from Bernie Sanders to Ben Shapiro, from Milo Yuenopoulos to Matthew Glacius, that guy from Vox.
	I mean, he really has conversations with everyone.
	And one of the draws of his program is that unlike the legacy news outlets, whose format makes it so you can only really get a soundbite from someone, on the Joe Rogan experience, the guests have enough time to actually explain their positions and their opinions so that you can evaluate them on their own merits.
	It's one of the few places online that you can actually go to hear what a person has actually in their mind.
	However, last month, after Joe Rogan hosted two episodes in which, for one, he spoke with Dr.
	Robert Malone, who holds several patents to the mRNA technology behind the vaccines, and secondly, with Dr.
	Peter McCullough, who is a cardiologist, well, things began to turn really sour.
	That's because both of these guests, they expressed opinions that were contrary to the mainstream narrative regarding both vaccines as well as COVID. Now, I don't want to get into their claims in and of themselves, but right after those episodes actually aired, well, the establishment apparatus, they turned on Joe Rogan as if he was public enemy number one.
	Here's an example.
	People are fundamentally angry about not being able to stop his audience from wanting news that is bad for them, you know, wanting something that's bad for them.
	So, you know, we're all haunted by the specter of this guy who's listening to Joe Rogan and internalizing this bad information and making bad choices as a result.
	Bad information and bad choices, with the assumption being, of course, that the legacy media are the arbiters of good information and they have the exclusive monopoly on knowing what the good choices actually are.
	Which is probably true, given the fact that they are more enlightened than the rest of us.
	Here's how that interview continued.
	Here's people who, you know, they like something that we, you know, who consider ourselves more enlightened don't think is good for them.
	You know, we think that they're internalizing this misinformation, that they're using it to make bad decisions.
	Then, of course, as you're likely aware, Mr.
	Neil Young gave Spotify an ultimatum.
	They can either have his music or the Joe Rogan podcast, but not both.
	That initiative ultimately failed, and Spotify did remove Neil Young's music.
	But it led to a canceled campaign with other artists like Joni Mitchell and other podcasts like Science Versus coming out and saying the same thing, that as long as Joe Rogan is on the platform, they will no longer be making content on there.
	However, here's where things get borderline unconstitutional.
	Because in this country, we as Americans have the First Amendment, meaning we have the freedom of speech as well as the freedom of the press.
	And so, while you might have episodes like this where Spotify has to balance their relationship with their listeners, with other content creators, and then with Joe Rogan, well, it becomes an entirely different matter when the government begins to impose on the situation.
	And that's exactly what happened.
	To start with, several weeks ago, while Joe Biden was speaking to the press, he made this comment regarding media platforms as well as legacy media outlets.
	I make a special appeal to social media companies and media outlets.
	Please deal with the misinformation and disinformation that's on your shows.
	It has to stop.
	And then last week, while he was being interviewed over on MSNBC, Dr.
	Vivek Murthy, who is the U.S. Surgeon General, he said that Silicon Valley tech companies, they have an important role to play in stopping the spread of alleged misinformation.
	Here's specifically what the Surgeon General said when he was asked specifically about the Joe Rogan podcast, as well as about Facebook.
	We can have the best science available.
	We can have the best public health expertise available.
	It won't help people if they don't have access to accurate information.
	People have the right to make their own decisions, but they also have the right to have accurate information to make that decision with.
	Now just to pause here for a quick moment, it's very interesting to hear a government official say that we as Americans have the right to make our own decision But that at the same time, the information that should be made available to us in order to make that decision, well, it must, essentially, be given a stamp of government approval in order for us to even have access to it.
	Regardless, here's how he continues, quote, This is about companies and individuals recognizing that the only way we get past misinformation is if we are careful about what we say and use the power that we have to limit the spread of misinformation.
	Now that can of course be seen as a tacit way of requesting social media companies to use their power to limit the spread of alleged misinformation.
	And it looks like that is exactly what happened.
	That's because just a few days after this interview, the Spotify CEO, he came out and released a statement saying that the company will begin to add disclaimers to any of their content that mentions COVID and those disclaimers will lead people to approved sources of information.
	Here's specifically what that statement said.
	We've heard you, especially those from the medical and scientific communities.
	We are working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19.
	This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources.
	However, it looks like the Biden administration did not think that that was enough.
	That's because, right after this change was made, well, Jen Psaki was asked about it at a White House press briefing, and here is specifically what she said.
	This is a satisfactory step.
	Our hope is that all major tech platforms, and all major news sources for that matter, be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as COVID-19.
	That certainly includes Spotify.
	So this disclaimer, it's a positive step.
	But we want every platform to continue doing more to call out misinformation and disinformation while also uplifting accurate information.
	It's a positive step, but there's more that can be done.
	As the saying goes, 100% of scientists agree when you silence all those who don't.
	And very naturally, these types of pointed comments raise the very obvious question.
	At what point does this become an act of outright government censorship?
	Because on the surface, you do have a veneer of plausible deniability.
	I mean, the government is, of course, not passing laws saying that this needs to be done.
	But when you have the Surgeon General and you have the White House themselves coming out and putting pressure on Spotify to censor a certain host...
	Well, it is beginning to look like government censorship with a few extra steps.
	Regardless, Joe Rogan did release a statement on this matter, and here's what he said in part, although I did have to speed up the video a little bit just so it wouldn't be so long.
	The problem I have with the term misinformation, especially today, is that many of the things that we thought of as misinformation just a short while ago are now accepted as fact.
	Like, for instance, eight months ago, if you said, if you get vaccinated, you can still catch COVID and you can still spread COVID, you'd be removed from social media.
	They would ban you from certain platforms.
	Now, that's accepted as fact.
	If you said, I don't think cloth masks work, you would be banned from social media.
	Now, that's openly and repeatedly stated on CNN. If you said, I think it's possible that COVID-19 came from a lab, you'd be banned from many social media platforms.
	Now, that's on the cover of Newsweek.
	If you'd like to read more about this government censorship and the way that it's actually playing out, I'll throw the links to several articles into the description box below this video.
	And all I ask in return is that you take a super, super quick moment to smash, smash, smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm.
	And now, before we move on over and discuss how the Hershey's Chocolate Company is now firing their unvaccinated employees and then further telling them to be quiet about it, I'd like to take a super quick moment and introduce the sponsor of today's episode.
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	Now Roman in the studio, back to you.
	And now let's move on over and talk about chocolate, specifically about Hershey's chocolate.
	Just yesterday, it was revealed that the Hershey company has begun to fire their unvaccinated office workers.
	However, the kicker in this case is that as these employees are making their way out the door, Hershey is asking them to sign a nine-page confidentiality agreement which would remove their rights to either sue the company or to even talk about their experiences.
	You might ask yourself, well, why in the world would they actually sign such a thing?
	Well, the obvious answer is money.
	If the employee signed the confidentiality agreement and pledged not to sue the company, nor talk about what happened, well, they will get what the document calls a special separation payment.
	And according to the employees who got the money, who spoke to us under the condition of anonymity, they said that the amount of the special separation payment is actually determined by an algorithm, and it amounts to about two months' worth of pay.
	Now, we actually got to speak with several former employees of Hershey and they painted a fairly consistent picture of what it was actually like to work there.
	By most of their accounts, working at Hershey was a rather good job.
	Whether they were working at the Pennsylvania headquarters or at the different offices throughout the different states, they said that they had higher than average wages, there were bowls of candy placed around the offices for snacking, and they were regularly treated to samples of new products to try.
	But from our conversations with them, it also became clear that at a certain point in time, the experience shifted and stopped being so fun when the Human Resources Department spent several months holding meetings which included constant education about the vaccines.
	And then the HR department would target the unvaccinated employees and ask them again and again whether they have changed their minds about getting the shot.
	Here's in fact what one former employee named Kim Durham hears what she told us here at the Epoch Times.
	I really thought I'd be okay.
	I thought, you cannot question my faith.
	Nobody can question that.
	Now, just to pause here for a super quick moment, what she's referring to is the fact that back in August, she submitted a religious accommodation request to the HR department, and she assumed that she would get it.
	However, she continues, quote, I thought this was behind me until September, when I met with an HR representative.
	It was an interrogation on your religious beliefs.
	They twisted your words and tried to put words in your mouth.
	It was terrible.
	I was asked such personal questions that had nothing to do with religion.
	And you can imagine her shock when, in November, her request for religious accommodation was actually denied.
	Now, two other employees that we interviewed over at Hershey gave us very similar accounts of this, although those two other individuals, they want to remain anonymous since they are still in their final days of employment with the company.
	However, it's really worth highlighting that everyone we spoke with, they mentioned being similarly troubled by the questions that they were asked during the meetings with either their supervisor or with HR. Here's a list of questions that we were able to compile after speaking to all those individuals.
	Have you ever been vaccinated?
	Are your children vaccinated?
	How do you protect yourself when you leave your home?
	How often do you go to church?
	Do you take Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Tums, or Midol?
	If so, how can you say that you're truly a religious person because a lot of those medicines also have the same ingredients as the vaccine?
	And then furthermore, it seems that these types of conversations were both ubiquitous and impossible to hide from.
	To give an example of what I mean by that, one of the Hershey's employees who we spoke with, they recently had a baby, which is of course a very joyous occasion.
	However, when they submitted their baby's birth certificate, as well as some other paperwork in order to set up insurance, well, in exchange, the employee was asked by the HR department why the baby had received vaccinations if the parent was unwilling to get the COVID shot.
	Here's specifically what this employee told us here at the Epoch Times, quote, "What does that have to do with me keeping a job?
	"From the time we started this ordeal, "we have had seven meetings about my vaccination status.
	"It was like harassment.
	"I felt like I wanted to crawl under a rock "when I was done." Now, you might look at the situation and you might say, "Hey, you know what, Roman?
	That is rough.
	But Hershey is doing what they need to do in order to protect the public.
	And there, you would actually be wrong, because their policy only applies to the Hershey's corporate offices, not to the public-facing employees at the different Hershey stores, the different Hershey retail outlets, the warehouse, the factories, or chocolate world.
	Those employees, the ones who actually interact with the public or interact with the food itself, they are only recommended to get the vaccine, but they still have a choice.
	It is only the office workers who don't have a choice.
	Meaning that the thinking behind this Hershey policy is that if you are a common worker and you interact with the general plebes like you and me who go into the Hershey stores, well, it doesn't matter if you are vaccinated.
	However, if you are a corporate employee and you interact with the high-level executives of Hershey's, well, you better get the shot or hit the road because we can't have the executives be put at risk.
	It appears that we are really beginning to enter a two-tiered society.
	And by the way, Hershey is not alone in pulling this type of move.
	That's because four days ago, T-Mobile, they announced a very similar policy, and they said that they will be firing all of their unvaccinated corporate employees by April.
	But the key word there is corporate.
	This applies to their corporate workers, meaning that the actual rank and file, the people who you yourself will interact with if you walk into a T-Mobile shop, this does not apply to them.
	Here's what an internal memo said that was sent out to all T-Mobile employees, and then the memo itself was published by Bloomberg News.
	Quote, Affected employees who do not become fully vaccinated and obtain a Magenta Pass by April 2 will be separated from T-Mobile.
	T-Mobile's badge-controlled offices continue to be accessible only to those who are vaccinated against COVID-19, and we have shared with employees that we are requiring office workers to be fully vaccinated by April 2.
	And furthermore, the memo went on to say that there will be exemptions for people who have either medical or religious accommodation requests for not getting the vaccine, as well as the exception that we mentioned earlier.
	In order to prevent having any impact on their customer service, that's what they wrote, workers who are actually in the company stores, meaning the people who actually interact with the public, they will be exempt from this mandate.
	Meaning, That all the field technicians, all the people who work in the kiosks, the pop-up shops, all the retail stores, they will be encouraged to get the shot, but they will not be mandated to do so.
	Again, just an interesting form of a two-tiered society that is forming right before our very eyes.
	Now, we here at the Epoch Times did reach out to both T-Mobile as well as to Hershey's for comment on these new policies, but have yet to hear back.
	And it's also worth noting, at least I believe, that this This is something that's being done of the volition of T-Mobile and Hershey's.
	This is not being mandated by the federal government.
	Because after the Supreme Court ruled down the OSHA mandate, they basically said that that mandate cannot be enforced while the case is still playing itself out in court.
	Well, these companies are choosing of their own volition to impose these vaccine mandates on their employees.
	They cannot say that they're being forced to by the federal government.
	And so we'll have to see how ultimately all this plays out.
	And if either of these companies get back to us, I'll let you know right away.
	Until then, Roman in the studio, back to you.
	If you'd like to read more about what's happening either over at Hershey's or over at T-Mobile, I'll throw the links to several articles into the description box below this video for you to check out.
	And again, all ask in return is that if you haven't already, take a quick moment to smash, smash, smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm.
	Subscribe to this YouTube channel in order to get this type of honest news content delivered directly into your YouTube feed while YouTube still allows it.
	Also, if you have a Telegram account, consider following us at FactsMatter underscore Roman, We'll publish links to all of our episodes there, so if anything ever does happen here on YouTube, you can always find us on Telegram.
	And then, until next time, I'm your host, Roman, from the Epoch Times.

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