White House asks public to report e-mail ‘disinformation’ about health insurance reform
Government wants public to report chain emails and ‘casual conversations’ that have opposing viewpoints from White House
August 4, 2009
The White House official website, whitehouse.gov, had a post on Tuesday, August 4th by Macon Phillips, the White House Director of New Media, asking the public to report "fishy" e-mails or web postings with "disinformation" about health insurance reform. The public is asked to report chain e-mails and "casual conversations" that might be "disinformation" and forward it to this government e-mail address: flag@whitehouse.gov.
The post has prompted reaction questioning, "What, exactly, does the White House plan to do with this information?" (see links below) The White House blog post does not specify what it intends to do with the e-mails it receives and is "flagging."
Below is the text of the White House request at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/
THE BRIEFING ROOM - THE BLOG
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2009 AT 6:55 AM
Facts Are Stubborn Things
Posted by Macon Phillips
Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, "facts are stubborn things."
Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions.
In this video, Linda Douglass, the communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office, addresses one example that makes it look like the President intends to "eliminate" private coverage, when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
For the record, the President has consistently said that if you like your insurance plan, your doctor, or both, you will be able to keep them. He has even proposed eight consumer protections relating specifically to the health insurance industry.
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Click here for Facts Are Stubborn Things
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