This is part four of a Washington Examiner investigative series about self-styled ‘disinformation’ tracking groups that are cracking down on conservative media and part of a lucrative operation that aims to defund disfavored speech. Read parts
one
,
two
and
three
.
EXCLUSIVE — Watchdog groups have raised concerns over the
State Department
bankrolling a “disinformation” tracking group that is secretly blacklisting and trying to defund conservative media outlets.
The Washington Examiner
revealed on Thursday
that the Global Disinformation Index, a British organization with two affiliated U.S. nonprofit groups, is hauling in cash with the intent of defunding and shutting down disfavored speech. Now, several watchdogs are calling out the State Department
for funding this group
, which is feeding its blacklist to major ad companies.
DISINFORMATION INC: READ ONE OF THE ‘BLACKLISTS’ USED SECRETLY TO DEFUND CONSERVATIVE NEWS
“Nothing is more Soviet than using federal government funding to control speech by choking an independent press,” Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of OpenTheBooks, a taxpayer watchdog, told the Washington Examiner. “The federal government is continuing to put its own thumb on the scale to green-light or red-light content in the marketplace of ideas. Using third-party intermediaries to do the dirty work isn’t fooling anyone.”
GDI compiles a “dynamic exclusion list” that is said to have at least 2,000 websites on it. The Washington Examiner
learned
that it is on this list and a source in the ad industry said Breitbart News is on it.
The disinformation group’s efforts are likely costing news companies vital advertising dollars. GDI, which is led by Clare Melford, former senior vice president for MTV Networks, and Daniel Rogers, says the 10 “riskiest” and “worst” offenders for peddling disinformation are the American Spectator, Newsmax, the Federalist, the American Conservative, One America News, the Blaze, the Daily Wire, RealClearPolitics, Reason, and the New York Post.
DISINFORMATION INC: STATE DEPARTMENT BANKROLLS GROUP SECRETLY BLACKLISTING CONSERVATIVE MEDIA
One advertising company that subscribes to this blacklist is Xandr, a group under Microsoft. Xandr has flagged dozens of conservative websites as “false/misleading,” “hate speech,” or “reprehensible/offensive,”
according to data leaked to the
Washington Examiner
and whistleblowers.
However, GDI has received $330,000
combined from entities under the State Department
, which led to First Amendment lawyers and members of Congress raising concerns over how this could be legal.
“I’m a proud conservative and an unashamed advocate for the free market and these documents put to rest the idea that Big Tech’s behavior should not be investigated by Republicans because they are private companies,” Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation, told the Washington Examiner. “American companies gave up the right to be left alone when they got in bed with the federal government. I hope these and other revelations are part of a deep and probing investigation by the United States Congress.”
Another watchdog, Protect the Public’s Trust, said the idea of the State Department funding groups “targeting Americans” turns the Constitution “on its head.”
DISINFORMATION INC: MEET THE GROUPS HAULING IN CASH TO SECRETLY BLACKLIST CONSERVATIVE NEWS
“The founders’ fears of the awesome power and resources of the government being used to silence those who don’t spout the government line is precisely why we have a First Amendment,” Michael Chamberlain, the group’s director, told the Washington Examiner. “As each layer of government involvement in the vast and growing censorship industry is peeled back, what we see gets more disturbing and, frankly, scary for anyone concerned about the ideals upon which this nation was founded.”
The State Department’s ties to GDI, or any other groups that participate in the blacklisting of media outlets in the United States, could place the agency in legal trouble, according to lawyers.
Jeffrey Clark, ex-acting head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, previously noted that the government and private entities “shouldn’t be involved with this entity that’s engaged in conduct that is either legally questionable or at least morally questionable.”
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“The GEC in no way moderates content on social media platforms; that is not its mission or its intent,” a spokesperson for the State Department told the Washington Examiner. “The role of the GEC is to identify foreign state and nonstate disinformation narratives, trends, and techniques aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, U.S. allies, and partner nations.”
