A documentary series criticizing the United States healthcare industry was removed from Amazon’s video-streaming platforms earlier this year after it was denounced by UnitedHealth for allegedly being “defamatory”.
The docuseries, developed by Wisconsin filmmaker Mary Strause, was removed from the platform after a law firm employed by UnitedHealth sent a letter to Amazon advocating for the series to be removed, stating that it defamed the health care company.
The video was removed from both Amazon and Vimeo’s platforms as a result of UnitedHealth’s legal efforts. Furthermore, their actions resulted in The Guardian postponing the publishing of an article investigating the company after they sued the media organization over another article which they alleged was defamatory.
This is the latest indication of a more aggressive campaign adopted by UnitedHealth to silence its detractors, according to The New York Times. The company has begun targeting media that criticize them in any way, shape or form, arguing that such criticism would encourage violence against their employees after the shooting of CEO Brian Thompson last year.
This new campaign is indicative of an increased willingness of companies to levy legal repercussions against critics and detractors. Observers have noted that similar campaigns have been on the rise since the Trump administration assumed power.
“Some version of this has been going on for a long, long time,” said Lee Levine, a retired First Amendment lawyer who has defended news outlets, including The New York Times. However, “the incidence of it has increased,” he indicated.
UnitedHealth has recently experienced adverse effects from negative press, which is likely a factor motivating their new approach. They are actively dealing with multiple federal criminal and civil investigations, including investigations into supposed Medicare fraud and antitrust violations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Negative publicity may adversely affect our stock price, damage our reputation and expose us to unexpected or unwarranted regulatory scrutiny,” UnitedHealth noted in its most recent annual report.
Originally published on Latin Times
