With the tense debate raging over how best to overhaul the healthcare coverage infrastructure, the White House has launched an offensive today against what it refers to as “viral whisper campaigns” designed to harbor dissent and negativity against the healthcare agenda.

Having taken many lessons from last year’s presidential campaign, the administration will be using the internet to debunk many of the tactics being undertaken to bring down the healthcare initiative, including circulated chain mails with falsehoods over the details of the plan, whisper campaigns on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and addressing web ads sponsored by right wing groups looking to throw a wrench into the process. The Republican minority has attempted to provide disinformation to the public, the Obama administration said.

According to Politico, the accusations on the table are clear: “conservatives have charged that Obama’s healthcare proposal would promote euthanasia, encourage federal funding of abortions, end private insurance and force every American into a public insurance plan. The White House and Democratic congressional leaders dispute each charge.”

Press secretary Robert Gibbs has been the most prominent face of the PR offensive so far, speaking out against Rick Scott, founder of Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, who reportedly took credit for town halls in which crowds became rowdy, booing and shouting down answers to valid questions. David Axelrod and Linda Douglass, two of Obama’s closest advisers, have also found themselves on the front line.

With every week that passes, reaching common ground on this issue only becomes more difficult. Though it would be preferable to see progress being made on healthcare reform, bringing the public squarely into the debate with with all of the facts is essential, not only to push the matter forward, but to maintain the level of transparency that we were promised. If spearheading an offensive against this campaign of disinformation will achieve this, then it the proper course of action to take.