Entrepreneur Elon Musk has strongly criticized content moderator NewsGuard, calling it a “scam” and demanding its immediate disbandment. Musk accuses NewsGuard of suppressing speech that doesn’t align with the moderator’s political biases. He also questions the European Union’s alleged association with NewsGuard.
On Oct. 19, Trump administration official Mike Benz made a startling claim on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating that NewsGuard is involved in a plot to bankrupt alternative news sources. He further revealed that NewsGuard collaborated with the EU on a disinformation code and offers “disinformation compliance” services to enforce censorship laws.
The EU’s “2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation” urges tech companies and ad firms to financially suffocate publishers spreading content deemed as “disinformation.” In response, Musk directly questioned Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the European Union’s Internal Market, asking for an explanation.
In an Oct. 19 X post, political commentator and podcast host Tim Pool revealed that NewsGuard penalized them for running stories that quoted former President Donald Trump. NewsGuard claimed that reporting on Trump’s statements was irresponsible and that they should have fact-checked him instead. Musk responded to this revelation, calling NewsGuard a scam and demanding its immediate disbandment.
Founded in 2018, NewsGuard claims to objectively and impartially rate online content for trustworthiness. However, an investigation by The Epoch Times revealed that NewsGuard’s ratings were influenced by its own biased opinions.
Elon Musk has been under increasing pressure from the EU regarding content moderation on X.
After Musk took over Twitter, now known as X, in October last year, Thierry Breton stated that if the platform wants to operate in the EU, it must comply with their rules. Breton also suggested that Musk needs to increase the number of content moderators on the platform in the EU.
Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market speaks during a signature ceremony regarding the Chips Act at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 8, 2022. (Virginia Mayo/Pool via Reuters)
In mid-December, tensions escalated between X and the EU when the platform suspended multiple journalists for allegedly violating its new policy on doxxing. Vera Jourova, a European Commission vice president, expressed concern over the “arbitrary suspension” of reporters.
In February this year, the EU criticized X for not taking the bloc’s fight against “disinformation” seriously. The platform produced an incomplete report on its compliance with EU rules on censorship, lagging behind Google, Meta, and TikTok.
“I am disappointed to see that Twitter’s report lags behind others and I expect a more serious commitment to their obligations,” said Ms. Jourova at the time.
Unlike tech firms like Google and Facebook, X has refused to participate in the EU’s voluntary anti-disinformation effort, the “2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation.”
During a press conference in September, Ms. Jourova referred to X as “the platform with the largest ratio of mis- or disinformation posts” and warned that they would be closely monitored.
Musk responded to the warning with a series of memes on X, mocking other tech firms’ eagerness to comply with the EU’s censorship laws.
This month, Mr. Breton accused X of not blocking posts related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, claiming that groups are spreading misinformation and “violent and terrorist” content on the platform.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino defended the platform, stating that they have removed hundreds of accounts linked to Hamas and taken down thousands of posts following the terror group’s attack on Israel.
NewsGuard Censorship
An investigation by The Epoch Times revealed that NewsGuard promotes its own biased opinions while fact-checking publishers.
There have been instances where publishers faced pressure from NewsGuard for running stories on topics such as COVID-19 vaccines, pandemic restrictions, climate change, and the World Economic Forum, which contradicted the views of the leftist establishment.
A NewsGuard rating on a PragerU article is displayed on a laptop in New York City on July 26, 2023. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Most of the outlets rated poorly by NewsGuard tend to lean right-wing, according to the investigation.
Conservative education platform PragerU was previously labeled red by NewsGuard. The organization demanded that PragerU stop criticizing COVID-19 lockdown policies and refrain from questioning the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.
NewsGuard has also received funding from the Biden administration, with the Department of Defense awarding them $749,387 in 2021 for their “misinformation fingerprints” project.
The project utilizes human intelligence and AI to monitor and suppress stories and media outlets deemed false and unreliable. It provides a continuously updated view of the digital information environment and tracks emerging narratives online.
In a report by the Media Research Center (MRC), it was revealed that NewsGuard gave perfect scores to outlets that tried to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story.
“Left-wing news organizations Politico, The Washington Post, Axios, and USA Today all dismissed the Biden bombshell as possible disinformation. Despite later authentication by The New York Times and its connection to an ongoing federal investigation, NewsGuard rated these outlets with perfect credibility scores,” the report stated.
In May last year, Rep. Jim Banks wrote a letter expressing concern over the grant given to NewsGuard by the U.S. Cyber Command. He criticized the “partisan suppression of political speech” and highlighted NewsGuard’s extreme partisan bias.
Musk’s criticism of NewsGuard and his ongoing clash with the EU over content moderation policies reflect the challenges faced by tech platforms and the growing concerns surrounding censorship and biased fact-checking.
How is NewsGuard allegedly involved in a plot to bankrupt alternative news sources, and what is its alleged collaboration with the European Union?
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In his criticism of NewsGuard, entrepreneur Elon Musk has not held back, describing it as a “scam” and demanding its immediate disbandment. Musk accused the content moderator of suppressing speech that does not align with the political biases of its moderators. He also expressed skepticism about the alleged association of NewsGuard with the European Union.
On October 19, Mike Benz, a Trump administration official, made a shocking claim on Twitter, stating that NewsGuard is involved in a plot to bankrupt alternative news sources. He further revealed that NewsGuard collaborated with the European Union on a disinformation code and offers “disinformation compliance” services to enforce censorship laws.
The European Union’s “2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation” urges tech companies and advertising firms to financially suffocate publishers that spread content considered as ”disinformation.” In response, Musk directly questioned Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the European Union’s Internal Market, demanding an explanation.
In another post on Twitter, political commentator and podcast host Tim Pool mentioned that NewsGuard penalized them for publishing stories that quoted former President Donald Trump. NewsGuard claimed that reporting on Trump’s statements was irresponsible.
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