Biden enlists social-media influencers for ‘it’s-Putin’s-fault’ messaging

By Bob Unruh

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the passing of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House photo by Adam Schultz)
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the passing of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House photo by Adam Schultz)

Joe Biden’s White House previously used social media “influencers” to try to convince the unwilling to take the experimental COVID-19 shots, which in some cases now have proven to have delivered fatal side effects.

China uses social media influencers all the time, most recently to try to hype the Olympics there. Bloomberg paid them to promote memes for his failed 2020 campaign.

Now the White House is at it again, holding a meeting with those online stars and starlets to persuade them to promote the information – or disinformation as it may be – that the gasoline price explosion in the United States is Vladimir Putin’s fault.

Actually, inflation and gasoline prices started surging as soon as Biden took office, and they’ve both been on an upward spiral ever since he attacked the energy industry by trying to make it harder to run natural gas plants, cutting back on drilling permits, and canceling the critically important Keystone pipeline.

Putin’s war with Ukraine, in fact, has triggered prices to tick up even further.

But Biden administration officials now have met with TikTok influencers to “coordinate messaging on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and blame Vladimir Putin for rising gas prices,” Fox Business has reported.

Then Ellie Zeiler, an 18-year-old influencer with some 10 million fans, unleashed a video asking “Why is gas so expensive?”

She said the “obvious” cause is that COVID-19 restrictions are being canceled and now people are driving more.

But, she claimed, “Russia is one of the top three producers of oil and it is actually their No. 1 revenue source. Now, with Putin starting this horrific fight between Ukraine and Russia, nobody wants to work with him and do international trade.”

The Washington Post said some 30 TikTok personalities were on the Zoom meeting with White House officials.

Gen-Z for Change also went on social media to explain the Zoom call was about the government’s “strategic goals in Ukraine.” Its members claimed that would make them better able to “debunk misinformation.”

“As a coalition that reaches half a billion people, we are grateful that the White House chooses to work with us to keep people informed,” the group claimed.

The Post reported Rob Flaherty, the White House director of digital strategy, praised the TikTokers because their reach is “critically important” to provide the White House’s chosen information to the public.

The Russian campaign to use social media messaging also has surged during Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his orders for attacks that have killed civilians including women and children.

Putin’s team online has claimed his is a “special” operation to remove “neo-Nazis” from Ukraine.

The Daily Mail described Biden’s actions as that he “cynically deployed TikTokers” to blame “soaring inflation on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – even though it was a serious issue for months before that war began.”

Under Biden, inflation already had surged to its highest level in decades, 7.5%, before the war started. Weeks after the attacks began, inflation as measured at 7.9%.

The Mail explained, “The president is desperate to shift the blame for the tanking economy as his own approval ratings crumble, with this November’s midterms currently predicted to spell grim news for his Democrat party.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki also has tried to blame Putin for the inflation that exploded under Biden’s economic policies.

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Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh's articles here.


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