White House didn’t stop ‘flagging’ Obamacare ‘misinformation’ -- By Anne Hendershott and Brian Simboli, The Washington Times

 Website still soliciting informers on friends, neighbors, co-workers

In 2009, the Obama administration conscripted citizens to join the government in helping to monitor the emails, casual conversations and activities of their neighbors, friends and co-workers by reporting "misinformation" about Obamacare.

Creating the email address, flag@whitehouse.gov, the administration encouraged citizens to inform the government of inaccurate information — or information that was counter to what the president was telling them — about the health care act.

The response to the attempt to create an informant society was immediate — and angry. Two weeks later, responding to growing public criticism about the idea of neighbors informing on neighbors on the proposed health care bill, the White House announced it had deactivated the "flag" email.

Did they? Despite the administration's announcement that the "flag" had been deactivated and removed, we have found that today, more than four years later, the email address still appears on the White House webpages (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things), accompanied by the same invitation to citizens to report anyone who is disseminating misinformation about Obamacare.

On the Whitehouse.gov website, visitors are still encouraged to "help end the disinformation" about health-insurance reform:

"There is a lot of disinformation about health-insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end-of-life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation.

"Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the Web about health-insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

It is reasonable to think that the White House, like many other organizations, simply forgot to remove the Web pages. This is unlikely because the Web page that showcases the "flag" email inviting informants to report on others was updated as recently as November 2013. At the top of the Web page is an update featuring a recent interview with President Obama.

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