Hawley criticizes DHS grant for countering conservatives
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is prioritizing dystopian censorship programs over defending homeland security along the southern border.
On Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas condemning the department’s $700,000 grant to an activist left-wing group. According to The Daily Wire, DHS deployed counterterrorism resources “to pay activists to write blog posts that criticized Donald Trump and other conservatives under the guise of ‘media literacy.’”
“Your Department has consistently weaponized the federal government to attack conservatives using taxpayer dollars, first by colluding with private social media companies to censor conservative viewpoints and now by funding private actors to create affirmative propaganda to ‘counter’ conservatives,” Hawley wrote Wednesday. “All these funds should be clawed back by the federal government immediately, and anyone involved in making this grant should be fired.”
The grant was awarded through the department’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Program to the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab. The university’s application for federal funding suggested deploying “community-created counterpropaganda to raise public awareness” about supposed “disinformation.”
“There’s no doubt that propaganda is effective as a form of warfare, which is why terrorism has long been called ‘the propaganda of the deed,’” the application reads. “But propaganda can also be used for socially beneficial purposes. Indeed, because the public has long been recognized as being suggestible, the United States has long made use of beneficial propaganda during WWI, WWII, and the Cold War.”
The Daily Wire reported last week that the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab was involved in coordinating propaganda workshops by German censorship practitioners funded by the U.S. State Department. The Federalist, The Daily Wire, and the state of Texas are collectively suing the State Department over the federal government’s censorship regime.
[RELATED:[RELATED:State Department Hired German Propagandists To Introduce Censorship In American Schools]
In his letter Wednesday, Hawley also called out DHS for providing more than $350,000 to the University of Dayton through the TVTP to combat “domestic violent extremism and hate movements.”
“The year prior to the grant award,” Hawley wrote, “the university’s Human Rights Center — which runs the program — hosted a seminar during which the Christian Broadcasting Network, the National Rifle Association, Fox News, and other mainstream conservative organizations were included in a ‘pyramid of far-right radicalization’ with neo-Nazis and white supremacists.”
“This amounts to the use of government funds to further President Biden’s political agenda,” Hawley added.
For years, the Department of Homeland Security has been at the center of the federal government’s “Censorship-Industrial Complex” to suppress dissident speech as ”disinformation.” In December, House lawmakers on the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability held a hearing on the agency’s censorship programs featuring collusion with Silicon Valley tech giants.
“When the government coerces or pressures a company with inducements or threats and the company responds by crushing private individuals, that is state action, and the First Amendment forbids it,” said Mark Chenoweth, president of the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), at the hearing.
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What legal action has been taken in response to the involvement of the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab in organizing propaganda workshops funded by the U.S. State Department
Title: Department of Homeland Security Prioritizes Dystopian Censorship Programs over Defending Homeland Security
Introduction:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has drawn criticism for its allocation of resources towards dystopian censorship programs rather than prioritizing the defense of homeland security. The recent revelation of a $700,000 grant awarded to an activist left-wing group has raised concerns about the department’s objectives and expenditure of taxpayer dollars.
Grant Controversy:
On January 2, the Daily Wire reported that the DHS had deployed counterterrorism resources to fund activists who wrote blog posts criticizing Donald Trump and other conservatives under the guise of “media literacy.” Senator Josh Hawley condemned the department’s actions in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that federal funds have been weaponized to attack conservatives. Hawley called for the immediate reclamation of these funds and termination of those involved in making the grant.
Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Program:
The controversial grant was awarded through the DHS’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Program to the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab. The university’s application for federal funding proposed the deployment of community-created counter-propaganda to raise public awareness regarding disinformation. The application argues that propaganda, as seen in warfare, can also be used for socially beneficial purposes.
German Propaganda Workshops and Legal Action:
Recent reports by The Daily Wire revealed that the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab was involved in organizing propaganda workshops by German censorship practitioners funded by the U.S. State Department. This revelation has led to collective legal action by The Federalist, The Daily Wire, and the state of Texas, who are suing the State Department over the federal government’s censorship regime.
Conclusion:
The allocation of a large grant to an activist left-wing group, coupled with the involvement of the University of Rhode Island in coordinating propaganda workshops, has raised serious concerns about the DHS’s priorities and use of taxpayers’ money. The weaponization of federal funds to attack conservatives and the promotion of propaganda under the veil of “media literacy” are alarming developments. The debate surrounding the DHS’s actions highlights the need for transparency and accountability in the distribution of federal grants and the protection of free speech.
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