{"id":2218066,"date":"2024-04-11T04:42:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T08:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dhs-recommended-state-department-contact-2020-election-censorship-group-emails\/"},"modified":"2024-04-11T04:44:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T08:44:52","slug":"dhs-recommended-state-department-contact-2020-election-censorship-group-emails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dhs-recommended-state-department-contact-2020-election-censorship-group-emails\/","title":{"rendered":"Emails reveal that the Department of Homeland Security advised the State Department to reach out to a group involved in &#8216;censorship&#8217; related to the 2020 election"},"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\">52<\/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%2Fdhs-recommended-state-department-contact-2020-election-censorship-group-emails%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=2218066&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>An exclusive investigation \u2063revealed that \u2064the Department of Homeland\u2064 Security recommended the\u2064 State Department to collaborate with\u2063 a group\u2062 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-social-media-court-fight-could-have-major-election-implications\/\" title=\"Biden's social media court fight could have major election implications\">influence social\u2064 media<\/a>\u2064 in favor of suppressing conservative speech\u200d before \u200cthe 2020 election.\u2064 This \u2063coordination\u2064 highlights concerns about government involvement in domestic \u2063censorship. \u200bAuthorities are further examining the role of \u2063various agencies in these initiatives.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014 <\/strong>The State Department was \u201crecommended\u201d by the Department of Homeland Security to contact a group it later partnered with on pressuring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>social media<\/a> platforms to suppress speech from conservatives before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2020-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>2020<\/a> election, emails show.<\/p>\n<p>On Oct. 14, 2020, hours after the <em>New York Post<\/em> published a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/10\/14\/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>story<\/a> based on Hunter Biden\u2019s abandoned laptop that Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1381899\/twitter-ceo-says-company-communication-to-justify-mass-censorship-of-new-york-post-biden-story-unacceptable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>blocked<\/a> from being shared online, the State Department\u2019s Global Engagement Center reached out to \u201cmisinformation\u201d researchers behind the Election Integrity Partnership, a collaboration between universities, left-wing think tanks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-poll-watcher-it-expert-non-trump-supporter-affidavit-sudden-surge-of-20000-mail-in-votes-for-biden-in-early-hours-on-nov\/\" title=\"GA Poll Watcher, IT Expert, Non-Trump Supporter Affidavit: Sudden Surge of 20,000 Mail-In-Votes For Biden In Early Hours On Nov\">social media companies<\/a>, and the U.S. government to thwart alleged falsehoods online in the lead-up to the presidential election. That outreach from the GEC, a foreign-focused office Republican lawmakers are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/2860918\/state-department-obstruct-censorship-investigation-house-gop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>investigating<\/a> for its ties to anti-speech projects in the United States, was apparently thanks to guidance from the DHS and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, according to internal documents. <\/p>\n<p>The newly unearthed coordination underscores the major role that CISA, an agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/2946776\/misinformation-researcher-personally-advised-big-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>under scrutiny<\/a> from the House GOP for allegedly colluding \u201cwith Big Tech and \u2018disinformation\u2019 partners to censor Americans\u201d in 2020, played in the Election Integrity Partnership, or EIP. Both CISA and Alex Stamos, who directed the Stanford Internet Observatory, a Stanford University office behind the EIP, have appeared to downplay CISA\u2019s role in the partnership despite some since-released records indicating a closer relationship than previously known, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/2952803\/stanford-researcher-dhs-2020-election-censorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Moreover, news of the government coordination will likely lead to lawmakers raising further concerns about why the State Department\u2019s GEC, which is tasked with countering \u201cforeign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation,\u201d would get involved with the EIP in the first place. Notably, FBI agent Elvis Chan, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/ago.mo.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/missouri-v-biden-ruling.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>accused<\/a> in a lawsuit by Republican state attorneys general of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23379650\/elvis-chan-deposition.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>testified<\/a> in 2022 that GEC officials did not \u201chave the same type of legal training\u201d on First Amendment protections as he did at the FBI, calling the GEC \u201cprimarily a foreign-focus agency.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>To Republicans, Chan\u2019s testimony highlighted why it was fundamentally wrong for the GEC to participate in the EIP or similar apparent domestic \u201ccensorship\u201d operations. But according to an Oct. 14, 2020, email reviewed by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, then-GEC academic and think tank liaison Adela Levis reached out to Renee DiResta and Shelby Grossman of the Stanford Internet Observatory, as well as co-founder Jevin West of the University of Washington\u2019s Center for an Informed Public, which also helped launch the EIP. <\/p>\n<p>The University of Washington\u2019s office is led by \u201cmisinformation\u201d researcher Kate Starbird, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/2946776\/misinformation-researcher-personally-advised-big-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>who testified to Congress<\/a> last year that she personally advised social media companies on crafting content moderation policies. Starbird <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/2946776\/misinformation-researcher-personally-advised-big-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in April that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platforms<\/a> in 2017 began to \u201creach out to me, seeking insights based on my academic research to help them better understand how rumors and disinformation spread online.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Writing in October 2020 to the trio of Stanford and University of Washington personnel, Levis said the GEC was \u201clooking to connect with someone at the EIP [in] the coming days\u201d and asked if DiResta, Grossman, or West would be available or have a good point of contact. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur colleagues at the Department of Homeland Security\/CISA recommended we talk to you about your current efforts to protect the 2020 elections from foreign interference,\u201d Levis told the trio. \u201cThere may be some synergies there with the work we\u2019re doing. Warm regards, Adela.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier that day, on Oct. 14, the <em>New York Post<\/em> had published a story titled, \u201cSmoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad,\u201d referring to Joe Biden. The story was restricted from being shared on Twitter by the platform, a close partner of the EIP, though there is no evidence the EIP was involved in suppressing the story. <\/p>\n<p>However, the revelation about CISA apparently recommending the GEC to the EIP raises concerns about the \u201cclose coordination between agencies involved in domestic matters and those involved in foreign policy\u201d for the 2020 initiative, said director Michael Chamberlain of Protect the Public\u2019s Trust, a watchdog group that obtained the internal records. Individuals connected to the EIP are notably facing a lawsuit from the Trump-tied America First Legal group for facilitating \u201cprobably the largest mass-surveillance and mass-censorship program in American history,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/media.aflegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/09040857\/Doc-1-Complaint.pdf?_ga=2.235335169.1686640201.1712253166-810141603.1712098076\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>complaint<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs more and more Americans lose trust in their government, the government reveals they are justified in doing so,\u201d Chamberlain said.<\/p>\n<p>West replied to Levis one day later, on Oct. 15, 2020, and included on the email Grossman, DiResta, an email account for the EIP, State Department employee Adele Ruppe, and Kate Starbird, records show. <\/p>\n<p>The subject line of the email was \u201cRE: GEC\/Election Integrity Partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Hunter Biden, left, arrives with attorney Abbe Lowell at the O\u2019Neill House Office Building for a closed-door deposition in a Republican-led investigation into the Biden family, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI would be happy to talk about the EIP project, at least from our perspective in the Center for an Informed Public (CIP) at UW,\u201d West said at the time. \u201cKate Starbird (cced) is leading our efforts in the CIP. She would be the best person to talk about the details of the some of the most recent rapid responses, but I am also happy to talk about the broader project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would be great to learn more about the efforts from your side in the various government agencies,\u201d West told the cohort. <\/p>\n<p>Levis sent an invitation that day for an Oct. 16, 2020, call \u201cto discuss a concrete idea we have for possible support of the EIP effort\u201d to Starbird, Grossman, West, DiResta, Stanford\u2019s Elena Cryst, and officials from the State Department, according to records. <\/p>\n<p>The GEC ended up joining the Democratic National Committee and other left-wing groups in reporting \u201ctickets\u201d in 2020 to a software system the EIP used to flag alleged misinformation to Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and others, the EIP said in a 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/stacks.stanford.edu\/file\/druid:tr171zs0069\/EIP-Final-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>report<\/a>. The EIP, in some cases, targeted posts by high-profile Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and GOP senators, as well as conservative commentators and websites, according <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/EIP_Jira-Ticket-Staff-Report-11-7-23-Clean.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>to<\/a> the House Judiciary Committee. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEIP Team, I want to send my sincerest thanks for allowing me to participate in the Election Integrity Partnership as an analyst with the GEC,\u201d State Department employee William Beebe would later email Stamos, Starbird, DiResta, and West in December 2020 after Biden\u2019s victory. \u201cMy colleagues and I appreciate your taking the time to meet with us before the election and accommodating my involvement on short notice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beebe called the EIP an \u201cimpactful\u201d initiative, emails show. <\/p>\n<p>In a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, Starbird said she and her colleagues at the University of Washington\u2019s Center for an Unformed Public were not \u201cin touch with DHS or CISA in the fall of 2020, and we have no idea who at CISA recommended GEC reach out to us or why they did.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>NOVEMBER 28, 2022 CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, Chris Krebs, Krebs Stamos Group, and Kate Starbird University of Washington during the Knight Foundation\u2019s Informed, Conversations on Democracy in the Digital Age, held at The Biltmore Hotel. (Photo by Patrick Farrell)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOnce again, the EIP did not \u2018suppress domestic speech,&#8217;\u201d Starbird said in the statement. \u201cEIP researchers worked specifically to identify, amplify, and rapidly communicate about false claims that could have disenfranchised voters or diminished trust in election results. Those who benefit from the spread of falsehoods want others to believe that calling out their bulls*** is \u2018censorship.\u2019 We disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Starbird added that her research team \u201cnever spoke with anyone in the U.S. government\u201d about Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop.<\/p>\n<p>CISA and the GEC declined to comment. <\/p>\n<p>Stanford also declined to comment. A university spokesperson pointed the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> to a prior <a href=\"https:\/\/cyber.fsi.stanford.edu\/io\/news\/update-amicus-sio-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"statement\">statement<\/a> arguing the GEC played a minor role in the EIP.<\/p>\n<p>The GEC is up for reauthorization in 2024, meaning the interagency group could be scrapped if Congress decides not to re-up its funding. The GEC has a $61 million budget and a staff of around 125 people.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee said that \u201ceverything remains on the table\u201d as far as holding the GEC responsible for being involved with the EIP. <\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s unclear whether the GEC will get the green light to continue from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which oversees the office and has pressed it over GEC-tied federal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/2773271\/disinformation-inc-state-department-bankrolls-group-secretly-blacklisting-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grants to groups<\/a> suppressing domestic speech, including the Global Disinformation Index, a group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/2801668\/disinformation-inc-meet-the-groups-hauling-in-cash-to-secretly-blacklist-conservative-news-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blacklisting<\/a> conservative websites from advertising dollars.<\/p>\n<p>The GEC\u2019s $100,000 grant to this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/?p=2801668\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>entity<\/a>, which was first reported on by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, prompted the state of Texas and two media outlets to file a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2455637\/top-republicans-throw-support-behind-major-biden-censorship-lawsuit-by-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>lawsuit<\/a> \u201cto halt one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press in the history of the nation,\u201d according to a complaint. <\/p>\n<p>Reauthorization \u201cwill depend on the GEC\u2019s willingness to acknowledge its credibility problem,\u201d said a source close to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A second source close to the committee said the GEC, including through its role with the EIP, has participated in what many lawmakers consider to be flagrantly anti-First Amendment activity. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA central point of tension for many Republicans is the GEC\u2019s clear record of domestic censorship and the targeting of conservatives, especially given that Congress enacted a statutory prohibition on State Department domestic activity of this kind,\u201d the second source said. <\/p>\n<p>Stanford did not return a request for comment. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an exclusive report, emails show that the Department of Homeland Security advised the State Department to connect with a group before the 2020 election. This group collaborated to influence social media platforms against conservative speech. The recommendation was made on Oct. 14, 2020, following the release of a story on Hunter Biden by the New York Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2218067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24092677256460-1-1024x716.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2218066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24092677256460-1-1024x716.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218066","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\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2218066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2218067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2218066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2218066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2218066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}