Lawsuit Claims US Funds Tech That Blacklists Conservative News

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • A lawsuit filed in the US Eastern District of Texas on Wednesday has accused the State Department of violating the First Amendment by using taxpayer money to fund 'fact-checking' enterprises that allegedly favor left-wing media outlets over conservative news sites.1
  • The plaintiffs — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, the Federalist, and the Daily Wire — claim that State Department-sponsored technology to counter foreign 'propaganda and misinformation' could 'render disfavored press outlets unprofitable.'2
  • As part of its Global Engagement Center (GEC), the lawsuit alleges, the Department awarded a contract worth $25K to NewsGuard, which rates the degree of 'misinformation' in news outlets, and a grant worth $100K to the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a British think tank.3
  • Furthermore, the plaintiffs claim that GDI has created 'blacklists' of media outlets it deems 'risky or unreliable' to delegitimize and demonetize conservative press as well as divert resources and readers toward news outlets that 'publish favored viewpoints.'4
  • The court documents highlight the GDI's December 2022 'Disinformation Risk Assessment,' which lists the top 10 'least risky' and 'riskiest' publications. The riskiest sites included right-leaning sites such as the Federalist and the Daily Wire, while left-leaning publications, such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, were put under the least risky category.1
  • While the State Department and GDI haven't commented, NewsGuard denies the allegations, claiming that its contract with the GEC only sees it monitor misinformation on state-backed outlets in Venezuela, Russia, and China, adding that its reliability ratings — which it claims are independent of the GEC — are based on an 'apolitical process.'2

Sources: 1New York Post, 2Reuters, 3Washington examiner and 4FOX News.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. Governments have no business acting as the arbiters of truth, and by funding self-serving organizations that show a clear bias toward conservative news outlets, that's exactly what the department is doing. This lawsuit is a defense of the rights of all journalistic organizations and every American, including the right to a free press as protected by the Constitution. It must be taken seriously.
  • Left narrative, as provided by Washington Post. The GEC was established to protect US national security interests, and claims of its misuse are wildly unfounded. This conservative legal strategy will do more harm than good if it forces the Biden administration to stop funding tech firms to spot foreign meddling, as many foreign influence campaigns have evolved to spread conspiracy theories and target American politicians to advance state interests.

Predictions