{"id":2101805,"date":"2023-11-17T11:40:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T16:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsguard-surrogate-the-feds-pay-to-keep-watch-on-the-internet-and-be-a-judge-of-the-truth\/"},"modified":"2023-11-17T11:45:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T16:45:23","slug":"newsguard-surrogate-the-feds-pay-to-keep-watch-on-the-internet-and-be-a-judge-of-the-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsguard-surrogate-the-feds-pay-to-keep-watch-on-the-internet-and-be-a-judge-of-the-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"NewsGuard: Surrogate the Feds Pay to Keep Watch on the Internet and Be a Judge of the Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnewsguard-surrogate-the-feds-pay-to-keep-watch-on-the-internet-and-be-a-judge-of-the-truth%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2101805&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Creation of\u200b OAN\u2019s\u2064 Shannon Kelland\/Social\u200c Media Team)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oann.com\/tag\/lee_fang\">Lee Fang<\/a><br \/>November 17, 2023<\/p>\n<p><em>(Views expressed by guest commentators may not reflect the views of \u200dOAN or its affiliates.)<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>In May 2021, \u2064L. Gordon Crovitz, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-newsguard-the-government-backed-censorship-tool-billed-as-an-arbiter-of-truth\/\" title=\"Meet NewsGuard: The Government-Backed Censorship Tool Billed As An Arbiter Of Truth\">media executive turned start-<\/a>up\u2064 investor, presented Twitter executives with an intriguing proposal\u200b for a censorship tool.<\/p>\n<p>In the &#8220;Twitter Files&#8221; revelations about media censorship, Crovitz, \u2064former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, pitched\u200b his product, NewsGuard,\u200c as a &#8220;Vaccine Against \u200bMisinformation.&#8221; He emphasized a \u2062&#8221;separate product&#8221; for internal use by content-moderation teams, \u2062which would utilize artificial intelligence powered\u200d by NewsGuard algorithms to quickly screen content based on hashtags and search terms associated with \u200bdangerous content.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2023\/11\/15\/verbatim_newsguards_inquisitiveness_and_realclearinvestigations_reply_992622.html\">Verbatim: NewsGuard\u2019s Inquisitiveness, and RCI\u2019s\u2064 Reply<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard&#8217;s pitch also revealed\u200c that it would rely\u2062 on official government \u2062sources, such \u2064as the federal Centers for Disease Control, to determine the truth about issues like COVID-19. The company&#8217;s allies in content moderation\u200c include intelligence and\u200d national security\u2062 officials, reputation management providers, and government agencies. NewsGuard aimed\u200d to \u2062rate the overall\u2064 reliability\u2064 of \u200dwebsites and combat COVID-19 misinformation from popular websites.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard&#8217;s failed pitch sheds light on the global trend of governments policing \u2063speech, from disinformation\u2062 to\u200d dissent. In the\u2063 United States, the effort often involves direct appeals to social\u200d media platforms and news outlets. More commonly, governments collaborate with seemingly benign non-governmental organizations, \u200blike the \u200dStanford Internet Observatory, to suppress disapproved speech.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard, a for-profit company founded by Crovitz \u200cand Steven Brill, seeks to reshape the internet and monetize speech policing. Its \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsguard-surrogate-the-feds-pay-to-keep-watch-on-the-internet-and-be-a-judge-of-the-truth\/\" title=\"NewsGuard: Surrogate the Feds Pay to Keep Watch on the Internet and Be a Judge of the Truth\">business model involves labeling entire news \u200bsites<\/a> as safe or untrustworthy, using a grading system called &#8220;nutrition\u200c labels.&#8221;\u2062 Critics argue \u200dthat \u2062these ratings are \u2063subjective and point out that reputable outlets\u2064 like the New York Times receive high ratings despite \u200bpublishing false information.<\/p>\n<p>As NewsGuard \u2064positions itself as the arbiter of trust on the internet, \u2062it claims to have reviewed 95%\u2064 of news sources across\u200d multiple languages. The company has \u200cpublished reports on disinformation related to China, \u2063the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the Israel-Hamas wars. NewsGuard has received positive coverage in outlets like CNN\u200b and the New York Times.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard\u2064 aims to expand its \u200bbrowser \u2064screening\u200c process \u2062into various\u2062 platforms and institutions. However, its close\u2063 ties \u2062to Publicis \u200bGroupe, a major marketing conglomerate representing pharmaceutical companies \u2063like Pfizer, \u2062raise concerns about conflicts of interest.\u200b Critics argue that NewsGuard acts \u2064as a proxy for its government\u200c and corporate clients\u200d to suppress\u2063 opposing views.<\/p>\n<p>Several websites, \u200bincluding the Daily Sceptic and Consortium News, have challenged their NewsGuard ratings but have faced little interest from the company in engaging in \u200da fair discussion. Instead,\u2063 NewsGuard has demanded retractions and downgraded ratings without valid justification.\u2063 This raises questions \u2064about NewsGuard&#8217;s impartiality and its role in guiding advertisers away from targeted sites.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard&#8217;s actions \u200chave \u200dsparked lawsuits and accusations of First Amendment violations and defamation.\u200b The company&#8217;s collaboration with the government and intelligence services further fuels\u2064 concerns about its\u200d agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the \u200ccontroversies\u200c surrounding NewsGuard, \u2062it\u200d continues to seek partnerships and\u200b licenses with \u2063social media platforms and\u200d other\u200b content moderation firms. Its influence in shaping\u200b online discourse remains significant.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Lee Fang is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-stunning-dishonesty-of-the-medical-establishment\/\" title=\"The Stunning Dishonesty Of The Medical Establishment\">independent journalist based<\/a>\u2062 in San Francisco. He writes an investigative newsletter\u200c on Substack via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.leefang.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.leefang.com.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Correction, 11:55 PM, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023<\/strong>This article has been \u200crevised to reflect the following correction:<br \/>An earlier version misstated an accolade of late \u2063Consortium News founder Robert Parry. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, not a\u2064 winner.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>This article was originally published \u2063by RealClearInvestigations, leefang.com and made available via RealClearWire.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"rc-widget-10bad2\" data-rc-widget data-widget-host=\"habitat\" data-endpoint=\"\/\/trends.revcontent.com\" data-widget-id=\"278641\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\t\u200b\t\tShare this post!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Rep. George Santos faces more\u200b Campaign Misappropriation accusations, Diddy fields accusations of his own\u200b and a jury\u2063 brings\u2063 the hammer down on David Depape.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>After\u200c Presidents Biden and\u200d Xi Jinping meet, whistleblowers cite concerns \u200dover Sequoia Capital. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Both Iowa and West Virginia are leading an 18-state coalition opposing the \u200bgag order a federal court has placed on former President Donald \u2063Trump. \u200b <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>In\u200b a 3-2 vote this \u200bweek, the Federal Communications Commission \u200chas \u200cadopted final rules to prevent so-called\u2063 &#8216;digital\u2064 discrimination,&#8217; that many say is rooted in Critical Race Theory. One America&#8217;s \u2063Chief White \u200bHouse Correspondent Monica Paige breaks down the details. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Spotify expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to use \u2062large language models to help identify a \u2062user&#8217;s listening patterns across podcasts and audiobooks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Starlink has secured a contract to \u2063offer free internet\u2062 in Mexico \u200duntil\u200c the end of 2026.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>U.S. lawmakers asked Apple Inc to explain the abrupt end of political \u200ccomedian Jon \u2063Stewart&#8217;s television show \u2063on its streaming service.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Elon\u200d Musk\u2064 denied a \u200breport that his rocket company SpaceX was discussing an \u200cIPO for its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/toyotas-camry-best-selling-car-in-us-goes-all-hybrid\/\" title=\"Toyota's Camry, top-selling car in the US, now fully hybrid.\">satellite internet business<\/a>, \u2062Starlink.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> rnrn  <\/p>\n<h2> In what ways does NewsGuard aim to combat COVID-19 misinformation from popular websites<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Lable on November 17, 2023.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>(Views expressed by guest commentators\u200b may not reflect \u2064the views of \u200dOAN or its affiliates.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>In May 2021, \u2064L. Gordon Crovitz, a media executive turned start-up\u2064 investor, presented Twitter executives with an intriguing proposal\u200b for a censorship tool.<\/p>\n<p>In the &#8220;Twitter Files&#8221; revelations about\u2063 media censorship, Crovitz, \u2064former publisher of the Wall Street \u200bJournal, pitched\u200b his product, NewsGuard,\u200c\u200d as a &#8220;Vaccine\u200d Against \u200bMisinformation.&#8221;\u2062 He emphasized a \u2062&#8221;separate product&#8221; for internal\u2062 use \u2063by content-moderation teams, \u2062which would utilize\u200d artificial intelligence powered\u200d by\u2062 NewsGuard algorithms\u2062 to quickly screen content \u2063based on hashtags \u2062and search terms associated with \u200b\u200bdangerous\u200b content.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2023\/11\/15\/verbatim_newsguards_inquisitiveness_and_realclearinvestigations_reply_992622.html\">Verbatim: NewsGuard\u2019s\u2063 Inquisitiveness, and RCI\u2019s\u2064 Reply<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard&#8217;s pitch also revealed\u200c that \u2062it would rely\u2062\u2063 on official government\u200d \u2062sources, such \u2064as the federal Centers for Disease\u2063 Control, to\u2064 determine the truth about issues like COVID-19. The company&#8217;s allies in content moderation\u200c\u200d include \u2063intelligence and\u200d national security\u2062 officials, reputation management \u200bproviders, and government agencies. \u200bNewsGuard aimed\u200d to\u200d \u2062rate the overall\u2064 reliability\u2064 of \u200dwebsites and combat COVID-19 \u200dmisinformation from \u200dpopular websites.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard&#8217;s failed pitch sheds light on the global trend of\u2064 governments policing \u2063speech,\u200b from disinformation\u2062 to\u200d dissent. In the\u2063 United States, the effort often involves direct appeals to social\u200d media platforms and news outlets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Creation of OAN\u2019s Shannon Kelland\/Social Media Team) By Lee Fang November 17, 2023 (Views expressed by guest commentators may not reflect the views of OAN or its affiliates.) Advertisement In May 2021, L. Gordon Crovitz, a media executive turned start-up investor, pitched Twitter executives on a powerful censorship tool.\u00a0 In an exchange that came to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1298,"featured_media":2101806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2101805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2101805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2101805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2101805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2101806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2101805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2101805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2101805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}