January 11, 2024
FOIA for EPA Records on Facebook Censorship of East Palestine Posts Filed
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking communications between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Facebook regarding posts about the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The request comes after reports that Facebook flagged or removed posts by whistleblowers and community activists about potential health impacts of the Norfolk Southern train derailment. The posts were on pages such as “East Palestine Off the Rails” and personal accounts of residents and whistleblowers. This FOIA specifically requests EPA communications with Facebook employees about train derailment-related content and any EPA contracts or financial ties with the social media company.
The FOIA request was filed after whistleblower client Scott Smith, an independent scientist who discovered elevated dioxin levels in East Palestine, reported that Facebook flagged his verified public figure profile after resident and outspoken advocate, Jami Rae Wallace, tagged Smith on his Facebook timeline on November 25 when she shared the Huffington Post article, A Roll of the Dice: The Unknown Threat of Exposure to Chemical Mixtures.” Previously, Jami Rae Wallace received a text from Mark Durno, EPA Region 5 leader on the ground and Homeland Security Advisor, telling her to remove her Facebook post where she posted to think critically about answers the EPA...
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