{"id":2346403,"date":"2024-09-26T16:40:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T20:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-backed-group-trades-barbs-with-congress-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-26T16:42:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T20:42:02","slug":"state-department-backed-group-trades-barbs-with-congress-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-backed-group-trades-barbs-with-congress-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"State Department-backed group trades barbs with Congress &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><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-backed-group-trades-barbs-with-congress-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=2346403&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>A conflict\u200d has\u2062 emerged \u2062between a State Department-backed nonprofit organization, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and members \u200dof Congress over accusations of censorship. A \u2063recent report from \u200bthe House Small Business Committee criticized the\u2063 NED for allegedly working\u200d with censorship organizations,\u2063 specifically mentioning its funding of the Global \u2063Disinformation Index, which is accused of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/soros-flooded-big-tech-censorship-pressure-group-with-millions-during-midterm-elections\/\" title=\"Soros poured millions into Big Tech censorship group during midterms\">targeting conservative media outlets<\/a>. The committee&#8217;s report\u200d suggests that government entities may be collaborating with private groups to suppress competition in the digital space.<\/p>\n<p>Damon Wilson, CEO \u2062of\u200b the NED, has responded fiercely, denying any intent to censor or interfere with free speech\u200c and asserting that the\u200d organization has no current programming targeting information integrity in\u2062 the U.S. He emphasized \u2062that\u200b recent ties with \u200cthe Global Disinformation Index were severed after\u2063 concerns were raised about NED&#8217;s funding being used for domestic activities, which would violate its international mandate.<\/p>\n<p>In response\u200c to Wilson&#8217;s statements, Rep. Roger Williams has demanded more documents from the\u200c NED regarding its connections to a Google \u200dlistserv that \u2062discussed\u2063 conservative media,\u2062 highlighting a broader concern about federal funding being potentially misallocated to groups involved in censorship activities. The NED&#8217;s relationship with the Global Disinformation \u2062Index and its potential effects on domestic media are under intense scrutiny, with congressional leaders emphasizing\u200c the inappropriateness of using taxpayer \u2064dollars in such contexts.  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">State Department-backed group trades barbs with Congress over &lsquo;censorship&rsquo; investigation<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1769298\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE<\/strong> &mdash; A State Department-backed group and a top <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republican<\/a> lawmaker are butting heads over a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3148525\/embattled-state-department-office-funding-censorship-groups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> congressional report<\/a> that accused the entity of working with &ldquo;censorship&rdquo; activists, leading to Congress demanding fresh documents, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has learned.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit group that receives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ned.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/National-Endowment-for-Democracy_23-FS_Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>most<\/a> of its funding through congressional appropriations, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/House-Committee-on-Small-Business-CIC-Report-September-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>faulted<\/a> in a House Small Business Committee report earlier this month for flouting its mandate to work internationally. That is because, in the telling of Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), the panel&rsquo;s chairman, the NED linked itself to censorious activity in the United States through its funding of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/2773271\/disinformation-inc-state-department-bankrolls-group-secretly-blacklisting-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Global Disinformation Index<\/a>, a British 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=\"noopener\" title>blacklisting conservative media outlets<\/a>, and other programs aiming to thwart alleged &ldquo;disinformation&rdquo; and &ldquo;misinformation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Committee members argued in the 66-page report that &ldquo;government agencies are working with the private sector to ensure that certain businesses do not have a fair chance to compete online.&rdquo; Its release ruffled feathers within the highest levels of the NED, the CEO of which, Damon Wilson, penned a Sept. 18 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09.18.2024-NED-Letter-to-Chairman-Williams-Small-Business-Committee-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>letter<\/a> to Williams requesting that the GOP-led panel &ldquo;correct the record&rdquo; on its report titled &ldquo;Instruments and Casualties of the Censorship-Industrial Complex.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;NED does not and has never sought to censor or hinder free speech, which is enshrined in our Constitution and central to the vitality of our democracy,&rdquo; Wilson, a former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a> and State Department official, wrote in the letter. &ldquo;NED has not engaged or been engaged by the Executive Branch, companies, their intermediaries, or any other parties to this end.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The leader of the NED, which sits on roughly $126 million in assets, emphasized how the group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/1877093\/disinformation-inc-state-department-backed-group-cuts-ties-with-group-blacklisting-conservative-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>cut ties with<\/a> the Global Disinformation Index after the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reported on the NED <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/2773271\/disinformation-inc-state-department-bankrolls-group-secretly-blacklisting-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>funding<\/a> the entity last year. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Alerted by a story in the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>,&rdquo; Wilson wrote in the letter, &ldquo;NED leadership took seriously the concerns raised and our obligation to ensure sound stewardship of American taxpayer dollars.&rdquo; The CEO insisted that the NED&rsquo;s funding for the British group was &ldquo;to analyze media environments in Mexico, Nigeria, India, Malaysia, Colombia, Turkey, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Thailand,&rdquo; according to a copy of the letter. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I want to underscore this point: NED has no programming related to information integrity and America&rsquo;s democracy,&rdquo; Wilson added in the letter, which came after a <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3148525\/embattled-state-department-office-funding-censorship-groups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>story<\/a> detailed an NED staffer&rsquo;s involvement in a fact-checking Google listserv discussing conservative media in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Williams, the House Small Business Committee chairman, replied to Wilson in a letter on Thursday, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/09.26.2024-Letter-to-National-Endowment-for-Democracy.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>copy<\/a> obtained by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. His panel&rsquo;s report also notably <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3148525\/embattled-state-department-office-funding-censorship-groups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>took aim<\/a> at the State Department&rsquo;s Global Engagement Center office for funding the Global Disinformation Index and other &ldquo;censorship&rdquo; groups.<\/p>\n<p>In the Thursday letter, Williams demanded sets of documents from the NED on its ties to the Google listserv, telling the CEO that the nonprofit group must explain its ties to it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Given the NED&rsquo;s strict international restraints, to which you refer in the letter, the committee hopes you would agree that the use of NED resources to send such an email about a domestic press outlet and evaluating its admission to a private credibility organization is improper and, as the finding states, a violation of the NED&rsquo;s international restrictions,&rdquo; Williams wrote in the letter, citing a then-2021 NED official&rsquo;s discussion of the <em>Daily Caller<\/em> in the listserv. <\/p>\n<p>To Williams, the CEO mischaracterized how his committee described the NED&rsquo;s relationship with the Global Disinformation Index. The NED leader alleged that the House Small Business Committee said the NED backed the British group to target domestic media outlets &mdash; but lawmakers never made that argument. To Republicans, it is problematic enough for a group such as the Global Disinformation Index to receive any federal funding &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2439614\/inside-the-gops-tense-negotiations-with-democrats-to-ban-pentagon-funded-censorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>which prompted a new Defense Department law last year<\/a> banning certain funds to the British group, as does a new provision through the annual State Department appropriations bill that cleared the House and will be negotiated in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The report does not allege the funds were used for &lsquo;programming focused on the United States,&#8217;&rdquo; Williams wrote to the CEO. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The report instead provides evidence that, prior to administering the GDI grants, the NED was aware of the GDI&rsquo;s work in the United States, as well as impacts the funding may have had domestically,&rdquo; the lawmaker continued. &ldquo;This is part of a larger conclusion of the report that no taxpayer dollars should be given to any entity which seeks to demonetize domestic press outlets because of their lawful speech.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In his letter, Williams asked the NED leader whether his staff &ldquo;ever submitted social media posts or accounts to <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> in the context of flagging them as potentially violative of terms of service or similar policies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The back-and-forth between Williams and Wilson, captured in the sets of letters, comes on the heels of the <em>New York Post<\/em> reporting on internal State Department press guidance that, according to the outlet, was used in 2023 to &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/09\/13\/us-news\/state-department-tried-to-discredit-reporters-republican-pol-over-conservative-blacklist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>discredit<\/a>&rdquo; the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, journalist Matt Taibbi, and a Republican congressman over coverage of state-funded groups aiming to suppress speech.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;By smearing anyone who disagrees with it as a Russian stooge, this network conflates U.S. citizens with a U.S. adversary, as State Department talking points did to my colleague Representative Jim Banks and the award-winning journalists Gabe Kaminsky and Matt Taibbi in a scheming sleight of hand that ruled out of bounds political opinions and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-independent-journalist-tayler-hansen-a-riot-that-turned-deadly-what-i-witnessed-at-the-us-capitol-riot\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Independent Journalist Tayler Hansen: A Riot that Turned Deadly, What I Witnessed at the US Capitol Riot\">fact-based reporting<\/a> it opposed but cannot refute,&rdquo; Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3165044\/state-departments-gec-should-close-over-censorship-issa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wrote in a letter this week<\/a> to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the revelation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1769298\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1769298\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State Department group clashes with Congress over &#8216;censorship&#8217; probe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2346404,"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\/07\/state-tren-de-aragua-reward.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[4402,5894,32895],"class_list":["post-2346403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-congress","tag-politics","tag-state-department"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/state-tren-de-aragua-reward.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346403","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=2346403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2346404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2346403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2346403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2346403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}