Alex Berenson sues Twitter over COVID-related ban
Former New York Times reporter joins 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' to sound off.
Substack writer Alex Berenson shared internal communications from Twitter that revealed the White House inquired about why his account had not been banned, according to findings from his lawsuit with the tech giant.
Berenson announced last month that he and Twitter reached a "mutually acceptable resolution" that prompted his Twitter account to be reinstated.
After previously hinting that the Biden administration may have played a role in his deplatforming from Twitter, Berenson published screenshots of an April 2021 exchange between Twitter employees regarding a meeting it had with White House officials.
"They had one really tough question about why Alex Berenson hasn't been kicked off the platform," the Twitter employee wrote on the workplace communication platform Slack.
In another post, a Twitter employee wrote, "They really wanted to know about Alex Berenson. Andy Slavitt suggested they had seen data viz that had showed he was the epicenter of disinfo that radiated outwards to the persuadable public."
Slavitt served as a White House COVID adviser until he left the Biden administration in June 2021.
Substack writer Alex Berenson alleged the Biden White House "privately demanded" he be removed from Twitter. (Fox News)
Berenson confirmed with Fox News Digital that he obtained the Slack communications as part of his settled lawsuit against Twitter but declined to elaborate. He did add, "I hope and expect to have more information to report soon."
On his "Unreported Truths" on Substack, Berenson teased "other reporters" had pressured Twitter to suspend him based on documents he has seen, writing, "I will report on those in the future."
Neither the White House nor Twitter immediately responded to Fox News' requests for comment.
As Berenson noted, President Biden accused Facebook of "killing people" in July 2021 for allowing so-called coronavirus "misinformation" to be shared on its platform. and that "A few hours after Biden’s comment, Twitter suspended my account for the first time."
One month later, Twitter placed Berenson on a permanent suspension.
Twitter has long been criticized for censorship. ((AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
The August 2021 tweet that benched the former New York Times journalist from Twitter was regarding how the virus was still transmissible even after vaccination, suggesting that calling it a "vaccine" wasn't actually accurate.
"It doesn’t stop infection. Or transmission. Don’t think of it as a vaccine," Berenson told his Twitter followers at the time. "Think of it - at best - as a therapeutic with a limited window of efficacy and terrible side effect profile that must be dosed IN ADVANCE OF ILLNESS. And we want to mandate it? Insanity."
As part of its settlement with Berenson, Twitter acknowledged his tweets "should not have led to his suspension at that time."
"I'm pleased to be back on Twitter, as it is a vital forum for journalism and free speech," Berenson told Fox News last month. "I plan to use the service as I always have, to publish accurate and truthful information on topics of public interest. And occasionally to rant about the Mets and Nets."
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - 2022/02/24: Former New York Times reporter and COVID-19 vaccine critic Alex Berenson addresses attendees on day one of Orlando's 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Berenson, author of "Pandemia" and the "Unreported Truths" series about the response to COVID, had long been an outspoken skeptic of the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine.
His reinstatement onto Twitter caught the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is currently in a legal battle against Twitter after attempting to withdraw from his buyout deal with the tech giant.
Musk's aspirations for Twitter to uphold free speech principles have been criticized by the left and members of the media, who have expressed support for silencing claims they believe are "misinformation" about COVID and the election they oppose and want to ban various forms of hate from the platform.
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