{"id":2403072,"date":"2025-02-15T16:36:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T21:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-musk-allege-us-government-paid-media-outlet-millions-for-large-scale-social-deception\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T16:37:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T21:37:41","slug":"trump-and-musk-allege-us-government-paid-media-outlet-millions-for-large-scale-social-deception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-musk-allege-us-government-paid-media-outlet-millions-for-large-scale-social-deception\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump and Musk Allege US Government Paid Media Outlet Millions for &#8216;Large Scale Social Deception&#8217;"},"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\">30<\/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%2Ftrump-and-musk-allege-us-government-paid-media-outlet-millions-for-large-scale-social-deception%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=2403072&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>In a \u2062recent claim,\u2062 president Donald Trump \u2064adn\u2063 Elon Musk \u2063alleged that the federal government paid Reuters over $9 \u2062million for a &#8220;large scale social\u200c deception&#8221; project.This\u200d assertion arose after Musk questioned \u2064the financial ties between Reuters and the government, \u200bprompting\u200c journalist Mario Nawfal to reveal a $9 million contract with the Department of Defense for &#8220;active <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/it-would-be-an-irreparable-disaster-if-joe-biden-were-designated-president-of-the-united-states-archbishop-carlo-maria-vigano-warns-believers-in-latest-interview\/\" title=\"\u201cIt Would Be an Irreparable Disaster if Joe Biden \u2013 Were Designated President of the United States\u201d \u2013 Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano Warns Believers in Latest Interview with Steve Bannon\">social engineering<\/a> defense.&#8221; the contract, which ran from September 2018 to\u200c November 2022, has\u200d led to a backlash against Reuters, with Musk highlighting the language of the contract\u200d as indicative of \u2064deceitful practices.<\/p>\n<p>However, Reuters has refuted these claims, noting that Thomson \u2064Reuters Special Services, the \u200bentity in question, operates\u2062 independently and that its contract was meant\u200d to protect \u2064against cyber threats rather than engage in social deception.The CEO of Thomson Reuters Special Services emphasized the company&#8217;s longstanding relationship\u2062 with various\u200c government \u2063agencies, clarifying that\u200d their work aims to prevent fraud and \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-associate-attorney-common-nominee-really-wants-to-eliminate-school-cops\/\" title=\"Biden Associate Attorney Common Nominee REALLY WANTS TO Eliminate School COPS\">enhance public safety<\/a>. Despite this, both Trump and Musk continue to criticize Reuters, calling for a refund of the alleged payment and labeling the organization a &#8220;total scam.&#8221;  <\/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\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?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<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump and Elon Musk claimed that the federal government paid Reuters over $9 million for a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">large scale social deception&#038;rdquo<\/a>; project, while the news outlet refuted the specifics of the claim.<\/p>\n<p>Musk responded to a story from Reuters critical of his Department of Government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-wednesdays-doge-savings-update-nuts-includes-racist-alcoholic-mice-steroid-hamster-fights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Efficiency<\/a> on Wednesday by asking on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1889884032122728461\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">X<\/a> &ldquo;how much money Reuters is getting from the government&rdquo; and vowing to &ldquo;find out.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Journalist and commentator Mario Nawfal then d a screenshot of a $9 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_FA865018C7886_9700_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contract<\/a> between the Department of Defense and &ldquo;Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC&rdquo; in response to Musk&rsquo;s comment.<\/p>\n<p>The description of the contract said the grant was for &ldquo;active social engineering defense&rdquo; and &ldquo;large scale social deception.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The contract started in September 2018 and concluded in November 2022.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#128680;&#127482;&#127480; DOD PAID REUTERS $9M FOR &ldquo;SOCIAL ENGINEERING&rdquo; PROGRAM<\/p>\n<p>DOGE investigations reveal mysterious Defense Department payments to Reuters for &ldquo;large scale social deception&rdquo; project between 2018-2022.<\/p>\n<p>While DARPA claims it was for cyber defense, questions swirl about why a news&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8jfgRLW8Fv\">https:\/\/t.co\/8jfgRLW8Fv<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DAcppcf2j9\">pic.twitter.com\/DAcppcf2j9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarioNawfal\/status\/1889895315970392215?\">February 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/doge-investigate-bureaucrats-become-wealthy-positions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Musk<\/a> then <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1889896827513868734\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">d<\/a> the finding on X and alleged that Reuters was involved in deceiving the public.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for &lsquo;large scale social deception.&rsquo; That is literally what it says on the purchase order,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re a total scam. Just wow.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump also <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/113996222032466903\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">commented<\/a> on the revelation via  on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;DOGE: Looks like Radical Left Reuters was paid $9,000,000 by the Department of Defense to study &lsquo;large scale social deception.&rsquo; GIVE BACK THE MONEY, NOW!&rdquo; the commander-in-chief said.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters meanwhile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/us-defense-department-contract-inaccurately-represented-social-media-says-2025-02-13\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> on Thursday that Thomson Reuters Special Services is a separate legal entity &ldquo;governed by an independent board of directors.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rather than engaging in &ldquo;large scale social deception&rdquo; for the government, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/reuters-accidentally-voices-support-foreign-interference-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reuters<\/a> said the contract was for protecting the government from &ldquo;social engineering, which is a form of cyber threat in which people are tricked into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fraudulent-pennsylvania-voter-registrations-traced-to-democrat-linked-company-district-attorney\/\" title=\"Fraudulent Pennsylvania Voter Registrations Traced to Democrat-Linked Company: District Attorney\">divulging sensitive information<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Steve Rubley, CEO of Thomson Reuters Special Services, told the outlet that his entity has a longstanding relationship with the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;TRSS has provided software and information services to U.S. government agencies across successive administrations for decades, to assist in identifying and preventing fraud, supporting public safety, and advancing justice,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Thomson Reuters Special Services has received over $120 million in government contracts since 2010, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the Defense Department, which has granted more than $60 million worth of contracts, Thomson Reuters Special Services received nearly $56 million from the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump and Elon Musk alleged that the federal government paid Reuters more than $9 million for a &#8220;large scale social deception&#8221; initiative, which Reuters disputed. In response to a critical article from Reuters about his Department of Government Efficiency, Musk questioned on X how much funding Reuters received from the government and promised to investigate further. Journalist Mario Nawfal shared a screenshot of a $9 million contract between the Department of Defense and &#8220;Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC,&#8221; which described the grant as related to &#8220;active social engineering defense&#8221; and &#8220;large scale social deception.&#8221; This contract was active from September 2018 until November 2022. Musk later reiterated on X that Reuters had been compensated by the U.S. government for engaging in public deception, calling it a scam. Trump also weighed in, stating that it appeared Radical Left Reuters had received $9 million for studying &#8220;large scale social deception&#8221; and demanded they return the funds immediately. In contrast, Reuters clarified that Thomson Reuters Special Services operates as an independent entity and stated that their contract was aimed at protecting against cyber threats involving social engineering rather than conducting any form of deception for the government. Steve Rubley, CEO of Thomson Reuters Special Services, emphasized their long-standing relationship with federal agencies aimed at preventing fraud and enhancing public safety; since 2010, they have secured over $120 million in contracts from various governmental departments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2403073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Picture-23.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[46148,4250,3634,35785],"class_list":["post-2403072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-media-outlets","tag-musk","tag-trump","tag-us-government"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Picture-23.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403072","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=2403072"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2403076,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403072\/revisions\/2403076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2403073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2403072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2403072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2403072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}