{"id":2108539,"date":"2023-11-27T08:24:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T13:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsguard-is-selling-its-government-funded-censorship-tool-to-private-companies\/"},"modified":"2023-11-27T08:28:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T13:28:27","slug":"newsguard-is-selling-its-government-funded-censorship-tool-to-private-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsguard-is-selling-its-government-funded-censorship-tool-to-private-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"NewsGuard sells government-funded censorship tool to private firms"},"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\">16<\/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-is-selling-its-government-funded-censorship-tool-to-private-companies%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=2108539&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--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>NewsGuard: The Government-Funded Censorship Machine<\/h2>\n<p>The for-profit censorship \u200bgiant NewsGuard is now selling its \u201cMisinformation Fingerprints\u201d technology to\u200d private companies to silence Americans\u2019 speech \u2014\u2064 technology \u2064the federal government helped NewsGuard \u200ddevelop to the tune of nearly $750,000 in taxpayer\u2062 funding. So while\u200d NewsGuard is now making headlines for trying to\u200b take\u2062 down Elon Musk\u2019s X, the bigger story concerns the federal government\u2019s\u200c funding of the censorship-industrial complex.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard launched a\u2062 Thanksgiving-week attack on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-coast-guard-seeks-source-of-some-1-1-million-gallons-of-crude-oil-in-gulf-of-mexico\/\" title=\"US Coast Guard seeks source of some 1.1 million gallons of crude oil in Gulf of Mexico\">social \u200bmedia company<\/a>\u200c former \u200cknown as Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/misinformation-monitor\/november-2023\/\">claiming<\/a> some 200 \u2062ads\u2064 from prominent advertisers appeared on feeds of users spreading lies about the\u200c Israel-Hamas war. Elon \u2062Musk returned fire, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsmax.com\/newsfront\/elon-musk-social-media-newsguard\/2023\/11\/23\/id\/1143437\/\">calling<\/a> NewsGuard \u201ca propaganda shop\u201d that \u201cuses these\u200b reports to pressure companies to buy their \u2018fact-checking\u2019 services.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a profit \u200dover any principle model,\u201d \u200cthe\u200b X owner countered.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The verbal sparring between\u200d Musk and NewsGuard is likely to continue \u200cfor some time,\u200c but the war on free\u2062 speech being\u200c waged by NewsGuard extends much beyond \u2063X and is being subsidized \u200dby our\u200b tax dollars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn \u2063September 2021, NewsGuard \u2063was\u2063 awarded a grant through\u2063 the Small Business\u200c Innovation and Research program, which funds early-stage companies to develop\u2062 products and\u200b technologies\u2062 that can be helpful for\u2064 government,\u201d \u200cNewsGuard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/NewsGuard-Social-Impact-Report-1.21.22.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> in its 2021 \u200dSocial\u200b Impact Report. \u201cUnder \u200cthe grant,\u201d the report explained, \u201cNewsGuard \u2063plans to further \u2064develop\u200d the Misinformation Fingerprints tool and test \u2062the effectiveness of the Fingerprints in detecting state-sponsored disinformation \u200dcampaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Federal records show the Department of Defense funded the Small Business Innovation and Research \u2064program\u2019s award of\u2062 nearly $750,000\u200d to NewsGuard for the further development and testing \u200dof the Misinformation Fingerprints tool. And according to NewsGuard\u2019s 2021 Social \u200dImpact\u200d Report, its \u201cMisinformation Fingerprints\u201d catalog \u2062traced \u201c762 \u200dfalse\u2064 narratives,\u201d \u201cproviding one-of-a-kind tracking seeds \u2064for \u2064the AI tools used by defense industry clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the following year,\u2064 NewsGuard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SIR-2022_31-Jan-2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> \u200c in its 2022 Social Impact Report\u200d that its \u201cMisinformation Fingerprints\u201d \u2063technology \u200dhad accumulated 1,122 supposedly\u2063 false narratives and been \u201cdeployed at scale\u201d \u2064\u2014 including by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-reject-democratic-pressure-to-disinvite-rfk-jr-from-testifying-on-censorship\/\" title=\"House Republicans refuse to bow to Democratic pressure, stand firm on RFK Jr.'s testimony on censorship.\">social media \u2063companies<\/a>. Since then, NewsGuard has\u2064 highlighted the use of the Misinformation Fingerprints tool by social media companies \u201cseeking to \u200cmitigate falsehoods\u200c on their platforms\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor example\u2064 the <a href=\"https:\/\/theethosnetwork.com\/\">Ethos Network<\/a>, an\u2062 ethical\u2062 social media \u2063app targeting Gen-Z\u200c users, \u200dhas integrated\u2064 NewsGuard\u2019s\u2062 Misinformation Fingerprints \u2062and associated \u2018debunks\u2019 into its user interface,\u201d NewsGuard bragged, claiming its technology enabled\u2062 \u201cusers to verify the \u2062content of their posts before publishing them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the Ethos Network, NewGuard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/insights\/how-newsguards-misinformation-fingerprints-can-help-security-defense-and-intelligence-companies-stay-on-top-of-misinformation-threats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a> that\u200c GIPHY, the online\u200d search engine \u2064and database of GIFS,\u2062 was one of the first companies to use the Misinformation Fingerprints dataset,\u200d \u201cto quickly identify and \u2064address content that \u2064risks spreading misinformation\u200b through its platform.\u201d Microsoft also\u2064 uses NewsGuard\u2019s \u201cfingerprints\u201d technology \u201cto train Bing Chat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/insights\/how-newsguards-misinformation-fingerprints-can-help-security-defense-and-intelligence-companies-stay-on-top-of-misinformation-threats\/\">markets<\/a> its Misinformation \u2062Fingerprints technology to a variety of entities, including\u200d tech giants and organizations \u200dwith AI and social-listening tools. \u2064That \u200btechnology,\u200d NewsGuard \u200cpromises, allows false claims to be intercepted, \u2063while facilitating the sharing of accurate information.<\/p>\n<p>Like its other offerings, NewsGuard\u2019s \u200bMisinformation Fingerprints\u200c tool relies on\u200b the research of its supposedly\u200b \u201ctrained analysts and misinformation experts,\u201d\u2063 meaning that the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/22\/newsguard-downgrades-fox-news-while-rating-hunter-biden-story-censors-with-perfect-credibility\/\">same<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/18\/left-wing-rating-agency-grades-media-that-botched-hunter-biden-story-with-100-percent-credibility\/\">defects<\/a> seen in its <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/18\/left-wing-rating-agency-grades-media-that-botched-hunter-biden-story-with-100-percent-credibility\/\">rating<\/a> of \u200bnews outlets \u200blikely permeate the Misinformation Fingerprints. NewsGuard \u2064also markets its Misinformation \u2064Fingerprints \u200bto\u200d be used \u201cin\u2062 conjunction with NewsGuard\u2019s \u2062reliability ratings,\u201d promoting that combined technology \u2062to the advertising\u2064 industry \u200bto be used to \u201credirect ad spend\u2062 away from purveyors of misinformation \u200cand\u2062 towards sources\u2062 of quality journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>American taxpayers thus paid\u200d for \u200bNewsGuard \u2062\u201cto\u200c further develop the Misinformation Fingerprints\u2063 tool,\u201d which NewsGuard then deployed at scale, \u200dmarketing the censorship technology to social media companies and advertisers to\u200c silence and starve disfavored speech. And because NewsGuard \u200bworked with\u2062 the Department of Defense \u201cto \u200btest\u200b the \u2064effectiveness of the Fingerprints in detecting\u2063 state-sponsored disinformation campaigns,\u201d it seems\u200c likely the government had some input in\u200c determining\u200b what qualified \u200cas \u201cdisinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard has \u2062since attempted to \u2062walk back its earlier boast\u2064 that it had received a government grant to develop\u2062 its Misinformation Fingerprints tool, framing \u2063the $750,000 award as a licensing fee. But whether\u2063 a grant \u200cor a licensing fee, the scandal remains the same: Our \u200dgovernment funded and helped \u2062develop censorship technology designed to silence American speech. And\u2062 the\u2064 award to NewsGuard is just one example, with the federal government <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/21\/grants-reveal-federal-governments-horrific-plans-to-censor-all-americans-speech\/\">awarding<\/a> more than\u2064 500\u200b contracts \u2064or grants related\u2062 to so-called mis- or\u2062 disinformation since 2020.<\/p>\n<p>These facts also should not \u200dbe considered \u200din \u2062isolation, but rather viewed in light \u2062of the federal government\u2019s efforts over the last five \u2062years to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-landmark-free-speech-case-fifth-circuit-judge-likens-government-coercion-of-big-tech-to-mob-boss\/\" title=\"Fifth Circuit Judge compares government coercion of Big Tech to a 'mob' boss in landmark free speech case.\">coerce\u2062 social media companies<\/a> to censor disfavored speech.<\/p>\n<p>So yes, NewsGuard\u2019s efforts to silence speech and to destroy \u200cthe financial survival of disfavored outlets and social media companies is a problem. However, fighting NewsGuard\u2019s anti-American attack on free speech\u200c isn\u2019t\u200b enough.\u2062 Rather, it is the\u200d totality of the federal government\u2019s efforts \u2063to control speech \u200cthat must be destroyed \u2014 or \u2062our freedom of \u200cspeech will be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"> <\/p>\n<h2> How does the use of\u200c PAA technology contribute to brand safety and ad verification?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Used\u2064 for\u2062 brand \u200dsafety\u2064 and ad \u2062verification.<\/p>\n<p>However, \u2064the use of government funding to develop and promote this technology raises\u2062 serious concerns\u200b about the infringement of \u200dfree speech \u200drights. By providing financial support to \u200bNewsGuard, the federal\u2064 government is \u2064effectively endorsing and \u200denabling the censorship-industrial complex.<\/p>\n<p>This is particularly\u200c troubling considering the power and influence that NewsGuard holds in\u200b the digital information\u200c landscape. With its credibility \u200cratings and fact-checking services,\u200d NewsGuard has the \u2063ability to shape public perception and\u200c control the flow of information. This kind of centralized control\u200d over information is dangerous \u2064and undermines the principles of a free and open \u200dsociety.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, there \u2063is a clear conflict\u2062 of\u200d interest when a government-funded entity such as NewsGuard\u2064 is selling its technology\u2064 to private \u200dcompanies. This creates a perverse \u2063incentive for NewsGuard \u200cto target and suppress\u2063 certain viewpoints that may be deemed unfavorable by those in power.\u200b Such actions not only stifle free\u2063 speech but also undermine the diversity of ideas and opinions that are necessary for a healthy democratic \u200bsociety.<\/p>\n<p>It is essential that we remain vigilant in \u2063preserving\u2063 our fundamental\u200d right\u200d to free speech and resist any attempts to control\u200d and manipulate the flow of \u2064information. The government \u2062should not be in the business of \u200bfunding censorship and stifling dissenting voices. Instead,\u200b it should uphold and protect the principles of free and open discourse, allowing\u2064 individuals to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-governor-encourages-people-to-call-police-on-neighbors-violating-covid-orders\/\" title=\"Oregon Governor Encourages People To Call Police On Neighbors Violating COVID Orders\">make informed decisions based<\/a> on\u2063 a wide range of perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the use of\u200d government \u200dfunding to\u2063 support \u200dNewsGuard&#8217;s censorship technology raises grave concerns about the erosion of free \u200bspeech \u200brights. We must be cautious of the increasing\u200c influence and \u200bpower that entities like NewsGuard hold over the\u200c flow of information. \u2063It \u2063is our responsibility to defend and protect our right to free\u2063 speech,\u2063 ensuring that diverse perspectives and ideas continue to thrive in our society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NewsGuard, a for-profit censorship company, is selling its &#8220;Misinformation Fingerprints&#8221; tech to silence Americans. The federal government funded its development with almost $750,000 of taxpayer money. While NewsGuard targets Elon Musk&#8217;s X, the real issue lies in its attempt to stifle free speech<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":2108540,"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":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2108539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"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\/2108539","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\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2108539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2108540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2108539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2108539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2108539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}