White House 'influencers' press kids to take COVID vaccines

Social-media star Benito Skinner in a video produced with the White House to urge teens to become vaccinated for COVID-19 (Video screenshot)

The nation got a taste Monday of a White House campaign reported by the New York Times to recruit social-media “influencers” to convince children from ages 12 to 18 to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

A video that prompted many vaccinated Americans to declare facetiously their wish to be “unvaccinated” after watching it featured White House press secretary Jen Psaki and cross-dressing Instagram star Benito Skinner as an over-the-top, flamboyant “Gen Z intern.”

On Tuesday, the Daily Wire reported a “confidential” email surfaced on social media, apparently approved by the White House team, that confirmed a New York Times report last week that “Village Marketing, an influencer marketing agency” was reaching out to social media influencers on behalf of the White House to reach teens. It’s described as “a broad, personality-driven campaign to confront an increasingly urgent challenge in the fight against the pandemic: vaccinating the youthful masses, who have the lowest inoculation rates of any eligible age group in the United States.”

The email that surfaced Tuesday asks the influencers to “do an intimate 1×1 Zoom call with Dr. Anthony Fauci” to promote teens getting the coronavirus vaccine.

“The goal is to have (redacted) ask questions on behalf of (redacted) community and educate young people around (sic) the vaccine as there is a massive need to grow awareness within the 12-25 age demo,” the email says.

“The White House team (and our team) agree that given (redacted) voice and influence within this crucial demo, (redacted) would be great for this special opportunity,” it continues.

The email opens with:

We have a highly sensitive (but pretty incredible) opportunity we’d love to discuss for (redacted). We have been working with Dr. Fauci and the White House (as featured on the front page of The New York Times, “To Fight Vaccine Lies, Authorities Recruit An ‘Influencer Army'”) and handpicking select influencers to do an intimate 1×1 Zoom call with Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Politico reported Monday that several European countries, including the U.K. and Sweden, have expressed concern about children as young as 12 getting a COVID vaccine.

In the U.K. and Sweden, only children in the 12 to 15 category who are at risk of severe illness from coronavirus can get a shot.

Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!

This article was originally published by the WND News Center.

Related Posts