(NaturalNews) A new investigation has revealed that one of the foremost
online resources for health information accepted millions of dollars
from the federal government in exchange for its promotion of Obamacare.
As reported by The Washington Times, the federal government awarded WebMD
a $4.8 million contract for its agreement to post pro-Obamacare
propaganda on its website, including the deceptive article "7 Surprising
Things About the Affordable Care Act."
A contract document obtained by The Washington Times reveals that the Obama administration funneled cash lump sums to WebMD each time it posted articles or information endorsing the health care program. WebMD also
reportedly accepted funds as part of a federal scheme to indoctrinate
physicians about Obamacare, so that they, too, could dispense propaganda
about the program to help build support for it.
Based on the leaked fee schedule, it was revealed that WebMD had
been contracted to receive $126,826 in taxpayer funds for each single
5,000 word review article it posted on scientific advances in a specific
clinical topic. The site also received nearly $70,000 for a single
four-minute video it posted from an opinion specialist. And an
astounding $140,000 was awarded for a single eight-question online quiz
posted to the site.
"This is truly pernicious on multiple
levels," stated Charles Lipson, a professor of political science at the
University of Chicago, to American Thinker's Thomas Lifson. "This story deserves wide publicity -- and WebMD
should be shamed again and again. (Makes me wonder if other news
outlets are receiving ACA money. Inquiring minds want to know.)"
Pernicious indeed, as WebMD is still perceived by many as being an unbiased source of health
information. But now that the cat is out of the bag, people everywhere
are starting to question, and rightly so, the legitimacy and integrity
of WebMD, not to mention various other mainstream sources of information on the web.
"Disclosure
and transparency would be a good practice for any recipient of federal
funding to promote the administration's health care plan," said Iowa
Senator Chuck Grassley to The Washington Times. "Even if certain
content is not produced with federal funding, but the same company takes
federal government money to produce other materials, consumers would be
better-informed by knowing the financial relationships."
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