{"id":2144750,"date":"2024-01-09T17:51:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T22:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-paid-germans-to-bring-censorship-and-propaganda-to-u-s-schools\/"},"modified":"2024-01-09T18:01:07","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T23:01:07","slug":"state-department-paid-germans-to-bring-censorship-and-propaganda-to-u-s-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-paid-germans-to-bring-censorship-and-propaganda-to-u-s-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"State Department funded German individuals to introduce censorship and propaganda in American schools"},"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\">26<\/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-paid-germans-to-bring-censorship-and-propaganda-to-u-s-schools%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=2144750&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>The U.S. State Department has been funding censorship practitioners from Germany to train American teachers on how to combat \u200b&#8221;disinformation.&#8221; These practitioners come\u2064 from a country that doesn&#8217;t have the same freedom of speech protections as the United States. The training sessions, called\u2064 &#8220;Medialogues on Propaganda,&#8221; were organized by an advocacy group that promotes similar laws in the U.S. and shares officials and finances with a for-profit anti-disinformation firm. The State Department paid for these trainings, which\u200d were mostly created by\u2064 German activists. \u2063The goal was to\u200d teach teachers how to\u200d &#8220;inoculate&#8221; students against \u2063disinformation and promote &#8220;media literacy.&#8221; However, the term &#8220;media literacy&#8221; was used to discredit media sources\u200d that questioned the \u200dgovernment or offended liberals, while encouraging students to create their own media that parroted progressive activism.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation by the \u200bMedia Research Center (MRC) revealed that the University\u200b of Rhode Island, an activist nonprofit, and a for-profit censorship firm were all connected and supported each other.\u2064 The Rhode Island Lab, which is supposed to be an academic\u200b institution, partnered with the activist group and provided credibility to their partisan activities. The nonprofit\u2064 Media Literacy Now (MLN) played a central role in the project as the &#8220;fiscal sponsor.&#8221; MLN advocates for mandatory media literacy training in schools and has influenced 18 states\u2063 to pass laws on this training. They see media literacy as a tool to create \u2062a society that promotes racial equity, social justice, and true democracy.<\/p>\n<p>The State \u2063Department sessions were used to\u2063 promote\u200c products from the for-profit \u200cfirm \u200dAd Fontes and NewsGuard.\u200c The Daily Wire is currently suing the State Department for promoting NewsGuard, which has been used to\u2062 economically punish media outlets with disfavored\u2063 political opinions. The seminars were conducted by three entities, including Germany&#8217;s \u2062University of W\u00fcrzburg&#8217;s Media Education\u200c &#038; Educational \u200bTechnology Lab and the University of Rhode Island&#8217;s Media Education Lab. The \u2063Rhode \u2062Island \u2064Lab has a history of promoting liberal censorship efforts and even held a seminar on teaching students about the limits of freedom of\u200d expression.<\/p>\n<p>MLN, the nonprofit involved\u2063 in the project, lobbies for mandatory media literacy training in schools to fight &#8220;misinformation&#8221; and\u200d &#8220;online\u2062 radicalization.&#8221; They believe that media literacy can bring about cultural change and promote \u200cracial equity, social justice, and true democracy. \u2063However, their mission seems to be \u200cmore \u2063about \u200bsuppressing speech that they deem factually flawed \u200bor disagreeable. The founder of the\u2062 Rhode Island Lab, Renee Hobbs, attempted to push federal legislation that would provide subsidies for anti-disinformation work like hers. This legislation was based\u2062 on the conspiracy theory that Russians caused Trump to win in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department-funded seminars featured speakers from Europe, including\u2064 Daisy Kidd from Tactical Tech, a group partnered with left-wing organizations funded by George\u2062 Soros. Kidd promoted\u2064 a &#8220;Data Detox Kit&#8221; that instructed teachers to install NewsGuard and use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/walsh-race-baiting-media-sounds-alarm-over-white-violence-here-are-the-facts-they-wont-tell-you\/\" title=\"WALSH: Race-Baiting Media Sounds Alarm Over \u2018White Violence.\u2019 Here Are The Facts They Won\u2019t Tell You.\">left-leaning fact-checkers<\/a> like Snopes and PolitiFact. The kit discouraged the use of\u200d the term &#8220;fake news&#8221; popularized by Trump. Another\u200d speaker, from a European group called MEET Tolerance, lamented the spread of \u2062ideologies based \u2062on hatred on the internet. MEET promotes a book\u2064 called &#8220;The New Racism: \u200cConservatives \u2063and the Ideology of the Tribe&#8221; and teaches children to become &#8220;media producers&#8221; advocating for intercultural values \u2064and social\u200b justice.<\/p>\n<p>The interconnected &#8220;disinformation&#8221; groups \u2062involved in this project include MLN,\u200b Ad Fontes, and the University of Rhode Island&#8217;s Media Education Lab. Ad Fontes assigns &#8220;bias&#8221; ratings to \u2062news sources and charges tech firms for the list, which they use to steer viewers away from supposedly unreliable content. MLN has a strategic \u200caffiliation with Ad\u200b Fontes, and Ad \u200bFontes directs a portion of its income \u2063to MLN. MLN advocates for laws that would benefit \u200cAd Fontes and similar firms. The \u200cpresident of MLN&#8217;s board is also the director\u2063 of communications for Ad Fontes.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064State Department-funded seminars were used\u2062 to train American teachers, \u200bwho then created lesson plans for children. These lesson plans promoted Ad Fontes and other left-wing causes. American teachers were paid by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zachary-faria-biden-and-the-cult-of-climate-change-are-beholden-to-an-uncaring-china\/\" title=\"Biden and Climate Change: Tied to China's Indifference.\">left-wing foundations<\/a> to implement these lesson plans. The documents obtained through FOIA show that the founder of \u200dthe Rhode Island Lab, Renee\u2064 Hobbs, often blurs the line between \u2063&#8221;media literacy&#8221; and progressive politics. She used the State Department seminar to bring\u200d her version \u200bof &#8220;media literacy&#8221; to Austin,\u200c Texas&#8217;s\u200d police academy, where she warned \u200cagainst promoting stereotypes and raising an American flag \u2063for slain police officers.<\/p>\n<p>The Media Research Center suggests that parents should inquire about the use of Ad Fontes and NewsGuard in their schools, state legislatures should ban funding for\u200c these organizations, and attorneys general should investigate whether activist groups pushing disinformation laws are receiving kickbacks from censorship firms. The State Department&#8217;s funding of propaganda seminars aimed at Americans is\u2063 concerning, especially considering \u2064the German \u2064experts who were lecturing to an American audience. The \u200bState Department claims that \u2062the funding was to\u200b support the participation of German participants, but it doesn&#8217;t change the fact that the \u2062target audience was American teachers.  <\/p>\n<h2> How does the close association between the advocacy group promoting &#8220;Medialogues\u2064 on Propaganda&#8221; and\u2064 a for-profit anti-disinformation firm raise \u200dquestions \u2064about hidden agendas behind the training sessions?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ominence\u2064 warriors&#8221; to combat\u200d online hate \u200dspeech.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 investigation conducted\u2063 by the\u200b Media Research Center\u200b has raised serious concerns about the State Department&#8217;s funding \u2062of censorship \u200bpractitioners from\u2062 Germany to train American teachers. The fact that these \u200bpractitioners come from \u200da \u200dcountry that does not possess the same freedom of \u200cspeech protections as the \u2064United States is alarming and\u200c raises questions \u2063about the government&#8217;s intentions.<\/p>\n<p>The training sessions, named \u2063&#8221;Medialogues on Propaganda,&#8221; were organized by an advocacy group\u2063 that promotes similar laws in the\u2064 U.S.\u200c and shares officials\u2063 and finances with a for-profit \u2062anti-disinformation firm.\u2062 This\u200b close association between the advocacy group and the\u2063 for-profit firm is unnerving and suggests a hidden agenda behind\u2064 the training sessions.<\/p>\n<p>Funded by the State \u2063Department, these trainings were largely created by German activists. The objective was to\u200d educate teachers on how to combat disinformation and \u2063promote media literacy among students. However, it appears\u200d that\u200d the term &#8220;media literacy&#8221; \u200cwas used to discredit media sources that\u2064 questioned the government or offended liberals. Instead of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-chairwoman-slams-left-wing-thought-police-at-college-campuses\/\" title=\"GOP chairwoman criticizes left-wing 'thought police' on campuses.\">encouraging critical thinking<\/a>, students were encouraged to \u200dcreate media that echoed \u2063progressive activism.<\/p>\n<p>According to the findings of the \u200bMedia Research Center, the University of Rhode Island, an activist\u200b nonprofit, \u200band \u200ca for-profit censorship firm were all interconnected and supported each other. The Rhode Island Lab, \u200cwhich \u200bis supposed \u2062to be an academic institution, \u200bpartnered\u2063 with the \u2064activist \u2062group to lend credibility to\u200c their partisan activities. Additionally, the nonprofit\u200c Media Literacy\u200b Now played a central role in the project as the\u200d &#8220;fiscal sponsor.&#8221;\u2064 They have influenced 18 states to pass laws mandating media literacy training\u200c in schools. However, their true motive seems to be\u200d promoting a society that aligns with their political agenda, including \u2063racial equity,\u2064 social justice,\u200c and what they view as true democracy.<\/p>\n<p>Disturbingly, the State Department sessions \u2064were used \u2064to promote products from the for-profit\u2064 firm Ad Fontes \u2064and NewsGuard. In fact,\u2064 The Daily Wire is currently suing the State \u200bDepartment for endorsing\u200c NewsGuard, which has been known to economically punish media outlets with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/daily-wire-and-the-federalist-sue-biden-state-department-over-censorship-effort\/\" title=\"Daily Wire and The Federalist file lawsuit against Biden State Department for censorship attempt\">disfavored political opinions<\/a>. The seminars were \u200bconducted by three \u200bentities, including Germany&#8217;s University of W\u00fcrzburg&#8217;s Media Education &#038; Educational Technology\u2064 Lab and\u200d the University of Rhode Island&#8217;s\u200b Media Education Lab. \u200cThe history of the \u2063Rhode Island Lab indicates that it has been involved in promoting liberal censorship \u2064efforts, even\u2064 holding a seminar on teaching \u200cstudents about the limitations of freedom of expression.<\/p>\n<p>The nonprofit organization, MLN, which \u2062was also involved in the project, actively lobbies for mandatory media\u2062 literacy training in schools in order\u2064 to\u2062 combat &#8220;misinformation&#8221; and &#8220;online radicalization.&#8221; However, it \u200bappears that their primary mission is to suppress speech that they consider factually \u2063flawed or disagreeable. The founder of \u2064the Rhode\u2064 Island Lab, Renee Hobbs, even attempted to push federal legislation that would \u2063provide\u200c subsidies \u200bfor anti-disinformation work like hers, based on the unfounded conspiracy theory that\u2063 Russians played\u2063 a major role in Trump&#8217;s\u200c victory in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department-funded seminars featured speakers from Europe, \u200dincluding Daisy Kidd from Tactical Tech, a group partnered with left-wing organizations funded by George Soros.\u200c Kidd advocated for a &#8220;Data Detox Kit&#8221; \u200cthat encouraged \u2064teachers to install NewsGuard and rely on left-leaning fact-checkers like Snopes and PolitiFact. Additionally, the kit discouraged the use of the term &#8220;fake\u200d news&#8221; popularized by\u200d Trump. Another speaker, \u2063representing the European group MEET Tolerance,\u200b expressed concern about the spread of hateful ideologies on the internet. MEET openly promotes a book \u200dtitled &#8220;The \u200bNew Racism: Conservatives and the Ideology of the \u2063Tribe&#8221; and \u200bteaches \u2062children to become \u200c&#8221;media prominence \u2063warriors&#8221; to combat online hate speech.<\/p>\n<p>These findings and revelations should serve as a wake-up call for the American people about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/video-massive-shark-spotted-within-feet-of-beachgoers-in-florida\/\" title=\"Video: Enormous Shark Seen Near Florida Beach\">potential dangers lurking<\/a> behind initiatives funded by the\u200d State Department \u200bthat claim to combat disinformation. It is crucial that media \u200cliteracy training \u2063in schools be\u200d unbiased, \u200dencouraging critical thinking rather than promoting\u2064 a \u2062specific ideology. Freedom of \u200dspeech\u2062 is a fundamental value \u200dthat should be upheld and protected, and any attempts to \u200bsuppress \u200dit should be viewed with skepticism and caution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. State Department funded German censorship experts to train American teachers in monitoring &#8220;disinformation.&#8221; Records obtained by the Media Research Center (MRC) reveal this, highlighting the contrast in freedoms between Germany and the U.S., protected by the First Amendment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":2144751,"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":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2144750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"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\/2144750","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\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2144750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2144751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2144750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2144750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2144750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}