Disinformation Inc. vs. the Founding Fathers

What percentage of people truly believe in freedom to speak? Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said that freedom of speech is not just a matter of opinion. “free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate”?

There are not as many answers as I expected after reading Gabe Kaminsky’s series articles about Washington Examiner colleagues. “Disinformation Inc.”

Kaminsky’s initial article, which appeared Feb. 9, explained how “well-funded ‘disinformation’ tracking groups are part of a stealth operation blacklisting and trying to defund conservative media, likely costing the news companies large sums in advertising dollars.”

These companies are neutral and nonpartisan organizations whose goal is to keep inaccurate information out of the political dialogue. However, disinformation can be mistaken for accurate advocacy.

Like many media. “fact-checkers” Mark Hemingway, a former Washington Examiner colleague, wrote a classic critique of this genre. Disinformation Inc. reveals that all lies and errors in journalism originate from one end. Hint: It’s not from the political Left.

Global Disinformation Index (based in Britain) is one of the key organizations. It also has two U.S.-based affiliate groups. GDI produces a “dynamic exclusion list” Rating media outlets “disinformation risk.” It states that it is trying to suppress content “is morally reprehensible or patently inoffensive” “without redeeming social value.”

According to reports, the Washington Examiner and 10 other publications are on its exclusion list. “riskiest” All outfits are, in some way or another, of the political Right. Disclosure: The American Spectator (American Conservative), RealClearPolitics (New York Post), and the American Conservative have all published my writings over time.

Clare Melford, CEO of GDI, stated that the group has identified topics “disinformation” COVID vaccinations, masking rules and abortion are all examples. These are all topics on which there is strong disagreement both on facts and moral values.

GDI is, unsurprisingly, a great source of income “least risky” Ratings to sources such as The New York Times, The Washington Post (for whom I worked for seven-years), BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, and HuffPost. Kaminsky points to the fact that BuzzFeed published the Steele dossier, accusing former President Donald Trump of collusion with Russia. HuffPost claimed that HuffPost published an October 2020 New York Post article on Hunter Biden. “Russian disinformation,” Biden confirmed the laptop’s ownership later.

Two of the most significant stories in calendar 2023 have cast doubt on the conclusion that conservative outlets spread disinformation and left-leaning outlets can be trusted.

The Columbia Journalism Review’s four-part series, written by Jeff Gerth, an ex-New York Times reporter, has demonstrated how GDI can be used. “least risky” The false allegations that Trump colluded in Russia were misrepresented by media outlets, with The New York Times being the most notable.

The independent, left-leaning reporter Matt Taibbi as well as the liberal activist Michael Shellenberger investigated Twitter files at Elon Musk’s request. This revealed how the now-fired and very liberal Twitter executives were even more skeptical about the Russian collusion hoax. “Russian disinformation” Rather than the media who ignored the story.

This means that it is possible to argue that Disinformation Inc.’s honor roll media sources did more to mislead public during Trump’s presidency and thereafter than its S-list media sources.

They did it with U.S. government aid. Kaminsky reported that GDI received $100,000 from State Department’s Global Engagement Center as well as $250,000 from Congress’s National Endowment for Democracy. Previously, GDI had done yeoman-like work promoting democracy in other countries.

Is the U.S. government financing speech suppression?

Some snapback is also encouraging. Microsoft announced that Xandr – an ad agency it owns – had suspended its relationship to GDI just two days after Kaminsky’s original article. Redmond, perhaps more than Silicon Valley, may be wary about suppressing speech it does not agree with.

Kaminsky’s expose of Disinformation Inc.’s principals is clear evidence that they are motivated by Trump’s misstatements, distortions, and many people consider him a Hitler. Trump’s presidency is not a Nazi-style regime, no matter how you see it. Trump’s opponents have concealed and twisted the truth just as often as he has, and perhaps even more effectively.

Aiming to suppress robust political debate can be a very bad thing. This is what happens when you suppress the speech and opinions of people you disagree with or those who you dislike. The Founding Fathers had better ideas.

Michael Barone, a senior political analyst at the Washington Examiner, is a resident fellow at American Enterprise Institute and a long-time co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.

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