{"id":2117238,"date":"2023-12-06T10:39:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T15:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-faces-lawsuit-from-conservative-media-over-funding-censorship-scheme\/"},"modified":"2023-12-06T10:43:40","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T15:43:40","slug":"state-department-faces-lawsuit-from-conservative-media-over-funding-censorship-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-faces-lawsuit-from-conservative-media-over-funding-censorship-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservative media sues State Department over alleged &#8216;censorship scheme&#8217; funding"},"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\">20<\/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%2Fstate-department-faces-lawsuit-from-conservative-media-over-funding-censorship-scheme%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=2117238&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--><h2>A Lawsuit Accuses State Department \u200bof Unconstitutional Censorship Scheme<\/h2>\n<p>A pair of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musks-x-partners-with-conservative-blacklist-tied-company-deal-with-the-devil\/\" title=\"Musk's X collaborates with blacklist-linked conservative firm: 'Unholy Alliance'\">conservative \u2063media outlets<\/a> have\u2062 filed a lawsuit against the State Department, alleging that it is funding\u200d an unconstitutional &#8220;censorship scheme&#8221; \u2064that suppresses voices on the Right. The complaint, filed \u2062by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on \u2062behalf of the Daily Wire and the Federalist,\u200b accuses the State Department and top \u200dofficials\u200c of engaging \u2062in one of the \u200cmost egregious government operations to censor\u200b the American press in history.<\/p>\n<h3>Uncovering the Alleged Scheme<\/h3>\n<p>The\u200c lawsuit highlights two groups \u200cthat received grants or contracts from the \u2063State\u200d Department&#8217;s Global Engagement\u2063 Center: NewsGuard and\u200d the Global Disinformation Index. NewsGuard rates the &#8220;misinformation&#8221; levels \u200dof news outlets,\u200b while \u2062the Global Disinformation \u200cIndex,\u2063 revealed through a Washington Examiner investigation, covertly feeds \u200bblacklists of conservative websites to advertisers to suppress disfavored speech.<\/p>\n<h3>Fighting for \u2062Free Speech Rights<\/h3>\n<p>Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist, stated,\u2062 &#8220;Today is the beginning of the end of the federal government&#8217;s ongoing efforts to destroy our free speech rights.&#8221; He emphasized \u2063that they will not stop until the entire censorship-industrial \u200bcomplex is dismantled. The Daily Wire also expressed\u2063 their determination to protect the constitutional guarantee of a free \u2062press.<\/p>\n<h3>Congressional Action and Controversial Funding<\/h3>\n<p>The lawsuit comes as\u2063 Congress considers \u2063a\u200d provision in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit the Defense Department from contracting with the Global Disinformation Index, NewsGuard, and other groups that advise censorship\u2062 or blacklisting based \u2063on \u2063subjective criteria or political biases. The lawsuit focuses \u2063on Disinfo Cloud, an unclassified platform that the outlets claim was\u2062 an &#8220;alter ego&#8221; of the U.S. government to fund censorship technology.<\/p>\n<h3>Scrutiny and Allegations<\/h3>\n<p>The Daily Wire\u2063 and the Federalist were both identified by \u200dthe Washington Examiner as being on the Global Disinformation Index&#8217;s list of the 10 &#8220;riskiest&#8221; news outlets \u2063for alleged disinformation. The lawsuit accuses NewsGuard of ranking the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-anyone-more-annoying-or-treacherous-than-barack-obama\/\" title=\"Is Anyone More Annoying or Treacherous than Barack Obama?\">conservative media outlets<\/a> as &#8220;unreliable&#8221; and highlights their alleged targeting of disfavored \u200cspeech.<\/p>\n<h3>Challenging the \u200cState \u200bDepartment&#8217;s \u2063Actions<\/h3>\n<p>The\u200b lawsuit seeks to \u2062declare the State Department&#8217;s &#8220;censorship enterprises&#8221; as lacking\u2063 statutory authority and exceeding \u2062constitutional authority. The Daily Wire and the Federalist are also alleging violations of\u200c the Administrative Procedure \u200cAct. Texas Attorney\u200d General Ken\u200b Paxton, who \u2062is leading the fight, stated that the State Department&#8217;s mission to obliterate the First Amendment is completely\u200b un-American.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are the potential\u200c implications for free speech \u200cand the independence of the media if the State Department&#8217;s funding and\u2062 support of these organizations is found to be unconstitutional<\/h2>\n<p><span>  As its name suggests, identifies and tracks disinformation campaigns. However, the plaintiffs in \u2063this case argue that these organizations are not neutral\u2064 fact-checkers, but rather tools of the State Department to suppress conservative voices.<\/p>\n<p>According to the lawsuit, these organizations have been granted funding \u2064by the State Department to determine which news outlets \u200bare deemed trustworthy and which \u2064ones are labeled as purveyors of\u200c &#8220;misinformation&#8221; or &#8220;disinformation&#8221;. The plaintiffs argue that this funding and support from the State Department gives these organizations undue influence and power to censor and control the narrative.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint further alleges that these organizations have a clear bias against conservative media outlets. The plaintiffs argue \u200bthat the criteria used by NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index to rate news outlets are subjective and arbitrary,\u2063 leading to\u200c the suppression of conservative voices. They claim that these organizations label conservative viewpoints as &#8220;misinformation&#8221; purely based on their own political biases, thereby stifling free\u200b speech and undermining the principles of a free and independent press.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit also accuses the State Department of violating the First Amendment rights of the Daily Wire and the Federalist. It argues that by providing funding and support to these organizations, the State Department is effectively endorsing \u2064their biased approach to news rating and\u200b enabling a censorship scheme that directly targets conservative media outlets.<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive \u200crelief to halt the State Department&#8217;s \u200bfunding of these organizations and to protect the First Amendment rights of the conservative media outlets. \u200dThey are also \u2064seeking a declaration from\u2063 the court that the State Department&#8217;s \u2064actions are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>This lawsuit\u200c sheds light on a\u2063 concerning issue in our society &#8211; the potential abuse \u2064of power and censorship by government entities. It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nascar-criticized-over-apparent-discrimination-in-diversity-internship\/\" title=\"NASCAR faces backlash for alleged diversity internship discrimination.\">raises important\u200c questions<\/a> about the role of the State Department in funding and supporting organizations that have the ability to \u2064shape \u200cpublic opinion and control the narrative. If these allegations are proven true, it could have far-reaching implications \u2062for free speech and \u200cthe independence of the media.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2062 outcome of this lawsuit will not only determine the fate of the Daily Wire and the Federalist \u2063but will \u200balso set a precedent for the limits of government interference in \u2063the press. It serves as a reminder of the importance of a free and independent press in a democratic society and the need to \u200dprotect it from any attempts to suppress or control it.<\/p>\n<p>As this lawsuit\u2063 unfolds, it is crucial for the public to stay informed and engaged. The outcome of this case will have significant\u200d implications for the freedom of speech and the ability of media outlets to express their views without fear of censorship.\u200b It is a\u200b challenge\u200b to the State\u2063 Department, forcing it to \u200bdefend its actions and justify\u200d its support for organizations\u2064 that are accused of stifling conservative voices.<\/p>\n<p>In a \u200dtime when the freedom of the press is \u2063under constant threat, this lawsuit serves as a reminder of \u2063the importance of\u2062 upholding the principles of a free and independent media. It is a call to action for all citizens to protect their fundamental rights and ensure that\u2062 the government does not overstep its bounds. The lawsuit against the State Department is a step towards holding those in power accountable and preserving \u2062the integrity of our democratic society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lawsuit filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance claims that the State Department is funding an unconstitutional &#8220;censorship scheme&#8221; to suppress conservative voices. Texas, the Daily Wire, and the Epoch Times are among the plaintiffs in the case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2117239,"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":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2117238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"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\/2117238","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2117238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2117239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2117238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2117238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2117238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}