{"id":2454503,"date":"2025-07-01T21:35:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T01:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fl-bill-blocks-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:36:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T01:36:47","slug":"fl-bill-blocks-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fl-bill-blocks-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors\/","title":{"rendered":"FL Bill Blocks State Agencies From Contracting With Media Censors\u00a0"},"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%2Ffl-bill-blocks-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors%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=2454503&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 recent move, Florida Governor Ron desantis signed into law a provision in the state&#8217;s budget for fiscal year 2026 that bans state agencies from using taxpayer money to contract with marketing and advertising firms that employ services deemed as &#8220;media reliability or bias monitors,&#8221; such as NewsGuard.This measure aims to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-pledges-support-for-gender-surgeries-for-minors-during-interview-with-dude-pretending-to-be-a-woman\/\" title=\"Biden Pledges Support for Gender Surgeries for Minors During Interview With Dude Pretending to Be a Woman\">prevent state funds<\/a> from being spent on companies that, according to critics, have a history of favoring certain media narratives over others and may <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/canceled-senate-dems-nix-disinformation-hearing-after-embarrassing-jankowicz-videos-surface\/\" title=\"Canceled: Senate Dems Nix \u2018Disinformation\u2019 Hearing After Embarrassing Jankowicz Videos Surface\">unfairly target conservative<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russias-opposition-candidates-decry-govt-censorship\/\" title=\"Russia\u2019s opposition candidates decry govt censorship\">independent media outlets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation comes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oversight-cmte-questions-biden-classified-document-timeline\/\" title=\"Oversight Committee Inquires About Biden&#039;s Classified Document Schedule\">amid ongoing discussions<\/a> about media censorship and the influence of government on free speech. NewsGuard, which received a grant from the Department of Defense to develop its technology, has faced criticism for allegedly suppressing conservative viewpoints. The law will remain effective until July 1, 2026. It reflects broader concerns regarding first Amendment rights and the perception of bias in media monitoring services that could influence public discourse.  <\/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 class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/gageskidmore\/52291148144\">Gage Skidmore \/ Flickr <\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC By-SA 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/01\/desantis-signs-provision-prohibiting-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=DeSantis%20Signs%20Provision%20Prohibiting%20State%20Agencies%20From%20Contracting%20With%20Media%20Censors%C2%A0&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/01\/desantis-signs-provision-prohibiting-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=DeSantis%20Signs%20Provision%20Prohibiting%20State%20Agencies%20From%20Contracting%20With%20Media%20Censors%C2%A0&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/01\/desantis-signs-provision-prohibiting-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/01\/desantis-signs-provision-prohibiting-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=DeSantis%20Signs%20Provision%20Prohibiting%20State%20Agencies%20From%20Contracting%20With%20Media%20Censors%C2%A0&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/01\/desantis-signs-provision-prohibiting-state-agencies-from-contracting-with-media-censors\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Florida&rsquo;s FY 2026 budget includes a provision that prohibits state agencies from using taxpayer dollars to contract with advertising and marketing companies that act as or use &ldquo;media reliability or bias monitors&rdquo; services, like censorship group NewsGuard.<\/p>\n<p>The measure, included in a budget <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Session\/Bill\/2025\/2502\/BillText\/er\/PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bill<\/a> Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday, &ldquo;prevents state agencies from entering contracts with advertising agencies and marketing firms that use <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >politically biased media monitoring services<\/a> like NewsGuard, Ad Fontes,&rdquo; and the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/global-disinformation-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Disinformation Index<\/a> (GDI), according to a press release from the Independent Media Council.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-83799531\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;These monitoring groups purport to be impartial, but consistently skew their ratings to target conservative and independent media from receiving advertising from major brands,&rdquo; the release adds.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard&rsquo;s &ldquo;Misinformation Fingerprints&rdquo; technology was developed with the help of a $750,000 grant <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/27\/newsguard-is-selling-its-government-funded-censorship-tool-to-private-companies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funded<\/a> by the Department of Defense, as The Federalist&rsquo;s Margot Cleveland reported. The group&rsquo;s &ldquo;False Claim Fingerprints&rdquo; technology is currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/solutions\/false-claim-fingerprints\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">marketed<\/a> to social media, AI, and other tech companies to trace and flag &ldquo;misinformation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During Biden&rsquo;s presidency, The Federalist, The Daily Wire, and the state of Texas sued the U.S. State Department for funding GDI and NewsGuard, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/06\/state-of-texas-joins-the-federalist-daily-wire-in-suing-the-federal-censorship-industrial-complex\/\">claiming<\/a> it &ldquo;violate[ed] the U.S. Constitution by funding technology to silence Americans who question government claims.&rdquo; The case is pending. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this year <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/16\/rubio-to-protect-free-speech-the-censorship-industrial-complex-must-be-dismantled\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> the abolishment of the organization that helped <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/18\/mike-johnsons-omnibus-resuscitates-state-department-group-that-censored-the-federalist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fund<\/a> GDI and NewsGuard, but an activist judge in California recently <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/16\/california-judge-stops-trump-administration-from-firing-internet-speech-police\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interfered<\/a> in his efforts to downsize at the State Department.<\/p>\n<p>The House Oversight Committee also launched an <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/release\/comer-probes-newsguards-impact-on-protected-first-amendment-speech-government-contracts%EF%BF%BC\/\">investigation<\/a> into NewsGuard&rsquo;s government contracts and into concerns that the company suppressed speech.<\/p>\n<p>The measure signed by DeSantis comes roughly one year after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/26\/scotus-green-lights-feds-big-tech-censorship-scheme-ahead-of-2024-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">green-light<\/a> the federal government&rsquo;s Big Tech censorship scheme in <em>Murthy v. Missouri<\/em>. In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/23pdf\/23-411_3dq3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dissent<\/a>, Justice Alito <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/26\/alito-americans-will-regret-courts-allowance-of-blatantly-unconstitutional-censorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rebuked<\/a> the court for refusing to address the &ldquo;serious threat to the First Amendment&rdquo; posed by government officials and tech companies colluding to suppress speech. The measure also comes after Florida&rsquo;s former CFO issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/31\/florida-cfo-bans-left-wing-propagandist-newsguard-from-receiving-state-financial-contracts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">directive<\/a> to the state&rsquo;s Department of Financial Services last July barring the agency from utilizing censorship groups like NewsGuard.<\/p>\n<p>The measure signed Monday will remain in place for the 2026 fiscal year, expiring July 1, 2026, according to the legislation. <\/p>\n<p>DeSantis&rsquo; office did not return The Federalist&rsquo;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Jacqueline Annis-Levings is a correspondent for the Federalist. She is a rising junior at Patrick Henry College, where she is majoring in English.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Jacqueline Annis-Levings<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JacqLevings\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@JacqLevings<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/jacquelineannislevings\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/advertising\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">advertising<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/censorship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">censorship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/first-amendmenrt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">First Amendmenrt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/florida\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Florida<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/free-speech\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">free speech<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gdi\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">GDI<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/government-censorship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">government censorship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/newsguard\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">NewsGuard<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ron DeSantis<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida&#8217;s FY 2026 budget bars state agencies from using taxpayer funds for contracts with advertising firms that employ media bias monitoring services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3848,"featured_media":2454504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/52291148144_2f5234fe65_o-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[58257,4762,39140,48609],"class_list":["post-2454503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-fl-bill","tag-legislation","tag-media-censorship","tag-state-agencies"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/52291148144_2f5234fe65_o-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454503","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\/3848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2454503"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2454507,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454503\/revisions\/2454507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2454504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}