{"id":2284049,"date":"2024-06-26T14:39:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T18:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservative-blacklister-gdi-at-center-of-house-censorship-hearing-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-26T14:45:31","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T18:45:31","slug":"conservative-blacklister-gdi-at-center-of-house-censorship-hearing-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservative-blacklister-gdi-at-center-of-house-censorship-hearing-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservative blacklister GDI at center of House \u2018censorship\u2019 hearing &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"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\">24<\/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%2Fconservative-blacklister-gdi-at-center-of-house-censorship-hearing-washington-examiner%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=2284049&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 \u200cGlobal Disinformation Index (GDI), a\u200d British organization linked \u200cwith a\u2064 U.S.-based affiliate pressuring \u2064advertisers to avoid conservative media, was a central subject at a \u2063U.S. congressional hearing. The focus was on \u200calleged censorship and its impact on \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-michigan-house-member-files-to-impeach-governor-gretchen-whitmer\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Michigan House Member Files to Impeach Governor Gretchen Whitmer\">small businesses<\/a>. The\u200c hearing, conducted by the \u200bRepublican-led House Small Business Commerce Committee, examined the actions of the State Department\u2019s Global Engagement Center, which, according \u2064to reports, had\u2062 allocated \u2062$100,000 to GDI. GDI has\u2062 been controversial for creating a blacklist of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-presidency-has-led-to-lower-traffic-for-media-outlets-across-the-political-spectrum-data-show\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Presidency Has Led To Lower Traffic For Media Outlets Across The Political Spectrum, Data Show\">conservative websites<\/a>, advising advertisers to withdraw\u2064 funding\u2063 to \u2064these\u200d outlets, reportedly \u200dleading to financial constraints.<\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, witnesses included Jenin \u200dYounes, a lawyer representing conservative sites in a legal challenge against\u200b the GEC\u2019s funding of GDI, and journalist Benjamin Weingarten from RealClearPolitics, a site reportedly affected by GDI&#8217;s blacklist. Younes argued that federal funding of GDI and similar companies was a violation of the\u200d First Amendment, citing the exclusively conservative focus of the censorship as viewpoint discrimination. Weingarten criticized \u200bthe funding and \u2063the \u200bundisclosed nature \u2063of the GDI blacklist, claiming it placed dissenting media\u200d at a disadvantage. Both \u200dwitnesses\u2064 highlighted the broader implications of such practices\u200c on freedom of speech and the operation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/corporate-media-forget-their-racist-past-when-lecturing-about-reparations\/\" title=\"Corporate media conveniently overlook their own racist history while attempting to lecture on the topic of reparations.\">media\u200d outlets<\/a> in a supposedly impartial and fair marketplace.  <\/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>The Global Disinformation Index, a British group with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/2820047\/state-department-disinformation-tracker-gdi-redacts-tax-forms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">affiliated<\/a> organization in the United States pressuring advertisers to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-hit-with-subpoena-over-censorship-by-proxy\/\" title=\"Subpoena issued to State Department over alleged 'proxy censorship\">boycott conservative media outlets<\/a>, was a key focus of a Wednesday congressional hearing on alleged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3045324\/state-department-subpoena-censorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>censorship<\/a> and small businesses. <\/p>\n<p>The hearing was held by the Republican-led House Small Business Committee, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3045324\/state-department-subpoena-censorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>which issued a subpoena in June<\/a> to the State Department\u2019s Global Engagement Center, first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/2773271\/disinformation-inc-state-department-bankrolls-group-secretly-blacklisting-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a> by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, awarding $100,000 to GDI, among other groups. GDI crafts a blacklist of conservative websites that it sends to advertisers with the intent of defunding them, the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2749593\/disinformation-inc-meet-the-groups-hauling-in-cash-to-secretly-blacklist-conservative-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a> in February 2023.<\/p>\n<p>One witness during the hearing was Jenin Younes, a lawyer for the nonprofit group New Civil Liberties Alliance that is representing two conservative websites, the Daily Wire and the Federalist, in a lawsuit against the GEC over its funding of GDI and a New York-based company called NewsGuard. A second witness was Benjamin Weingarten, a journalist for the outlet <em>RealClearPolitics<\/em>, which was blacklisted by GDI.<\/p>\n<p>Federal funding of GDI and NewsGuard \u201cclearly violates the First Amendment,\u201d Younes told lawmakers. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompanies such as NewsGuard and GDI targeted primarily, if not exclusively, conservative speech, which should strike any fair-minded person as suspect,\u201d Younes said in the hearing. \u201cIt\u2019s viewpoint discrimination, and it\u2019s anathema to the First Amendment, which doesn\u2019t tolerate government silencing views of political adversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy the way, I\u2019m not a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/john-rich-blasts-other-country-music-stars-for-their-silence-as-leftist-ideologies-aim-to-erase-what-they-care-about\/\" title=\"John Rich Blasts Other Country Music Stars For Their Silence As Leftist Ideologies \u2018Aim To Erase What They Care About\u2019\">political conservative<\/a> or Republican,\u201d Younes emphasized Wednesday. \u201cI\u2019m left-leaning, to say the least. I don\u2019t agree with much of the speech that has been the subject of the censorship program. But I recognize that it\u2019s extremely dangerous to put the government in charge of deciding who or what should be heard and who or what should be silenced.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<p data-video_id=\"d5iRqIKSuO0\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Examining the Censorship-Industrial Complex and its Impact on American Small Businesses\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d5iRqIKSuO0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen    style=\"display:none\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Weingarten echoed criticisms of GDI and its efforts to defund conservative websites. He also aligned with criticisms of the GEC funding the organization. The GEC\u2019s cash to GDI is a problem because the British group threatens \u201cthe viability of media companies that dare to dissent from established orthodoxy,\u201d he testified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGDI\u2019s blacklist isn\u2019t public, but its 2022 report on \u2018disinformation risk\u2019 among U.S. sources betrays a similar bias,\u201d Weingarten said. \u201cThe Censorship Industrial Complex has made a highly competitive business harder and placed us at a competitive disadvantage. Our ad revenue has declined materially, forcing us to devote substantially more time and resources to fundraising.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>RealClearPolitics<\/em>, among other media outlets, has notably fundraised off revelations from the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>\u2018s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/2204408\/how-we-uncovered-a-modern-censorship-regime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>\u201cDisinformation Inc.\u201d<\/a> series, records show.<\/p>\n<p>However, not all witnesses were on the same page regarding matters posed by GDI and NewsGuard. Mary Anne Franks, a law professor at George Washington University, claimed Republicans have made \u201cfalse accusations\u201d that prompted \u201cextensive harassment\u201d of self-styled disinformation researchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is not censorship. It is quite the opposite,\u201d Franks testified. \u201cIt is the First Amendment protected right to choose to disassociate from speech with which you disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a line of thinking that Weingarten pushed back heavily against. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government has the bully pulpit and a whole slew of other tools to express its viewpoint,\u201d Weingarten testified. \u201cFunding entities that exist to bankrupt media companies that propagate dissenting viewpoints, to me, is un-American, unconstitutional, and, frankly, just wrong on its face.\u201d<\/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>The hearing, featuring a familiar back-and-forth between lawmakers on the matter of alleged censorship, comes as the House Small Business Committee presses ahead with its GEC investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The GOP-led panel declined this week to say whether there were any updates about document production for its subpoena to the GEC. It is led by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), who said in the hearing that the U.S. government \u201chas been caught collaborating with private entities to censor narratives they don\u2019t like.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Global Disinformation Index, a UK group with a US affiliate urging advertiser boycotts on conservative media, was central to a congressional hearing on alleged censorship impacting small businesses. The Republican-led House Small Business Committee, which subpoenaed the group in June, conducted the hearing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2284050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24011714182892-scaled-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[27927,4914,32881,32882,32076],"class_list":["post-2284049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-blacklister","tag-conservative","tag-gdi","tag-house-censorship","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24011714182892-scaled-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284049","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=2284049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2284050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2284049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2284049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2284049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}