Facebook flags content linking Biden admin with Nord Stream pipeline attack

Facebook appears to be censoring material on its platform that suggests the Biden administration played a role in a 2022 sabotage effort against the Nord Stream pipelines.

U.S. officials have suggested that pro-Ukrainian forces carried out the September attack on the pipelines, which supply natural gas from Russia to Germany. Independent journalists, however, remain doubtful with some reports directly implicating the Biden administration and the Norwegian government.

The social media platform this week, however, flagged content linking the government to the attack as "false information" and referred users to independent fact-checkers.

Journalist Michael Shellenberger this week posted a video of his attempt to share a report from Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, that implicates Biden. Shellenberger's attempt shows the article obscured over a message reading "False information. Checked by independent fact-checkers."

As of press time, Facebook has updated its warning to read "partly false information" and removed the blurring that hid the article.

There is a big debate over who blew up the Nord Stream pipeline. Instead of allowing the debate, Facebook has decided to take a side. It is censoring Pulitzer-winning journalist Seymour Hersh. And instead of explaining, Facebook sends readers to an article in Norwegian. Watch pic.twitter.com/nN18HovBPR

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) April 19, 2023

The article to which Facebook directs users is in Norwegian. Shellenberger identifies the outlet as connected to the Norwegian government.

"The fact-checking organization is a partnership with a Norwegian government-owned media company, NRK, which has a direct self-interest in censoring the story," he said.

The fact-checking group denied to Shellenberger that it had censored Hersh.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.