{"id":551244,"date":"2021-06-03T16:20:52","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T20:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=551244"},"modified":"2021-06-03T16:20:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T20:20:55","slug":"new-liberal-truth-brigade-has-ties-to-billionaire-who-peddled-disinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-liberal-truth-brigade-has-ties-to-billionaire-who-peddled-disinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"New Liberal \u2018Truth Brigade\u2019 Has Ties to Billionaire Who Peddled Disinformation"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fnew-liberal-truth-brigade-has-ties-to-billionaire-who-peddled-disinformation%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=551244&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--><div readability=\"29.661538461538\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"article-category\"><a class href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/\">Democrats<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-excerpt\">Indivisible&#8217;s new project aims to purge conservative disinformation from social media<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail-container relative lg:mr-24 w-full my-4 mb-8\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"736\" height=\"514\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-513213152-736x514-1.jpg\" class=\"w-full lazyload blur-up wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-513213152.jpg 736w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/GettyImages-513213152-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/GettyImages-513213152-703x491.jpg 703w\" data-sizes=\"auto\"  style=\"display:none\"><figcaption class=\"absolute text-white p-4 w-full text-right text-xs bottom-0 bg-black opacity-75\">\n\t\t\t\tReid Hoffman and Joi Ito \/ Getty Images\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t<span class=\"text-gray text-xs md:text-lg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/author\/chuck-ross\/\" title=\"Posts by Chuck Ross\" class=\"author url fn text-red-700\" rel=\"author\">Chuck Ross<\/a> \u2022 June 3, 2021 4:05 pm<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"111.99732006126\">\n<p>A leftwing initiative launched this week aimed at monitoring conservative &#8220;disinformation&#8221; has ties to a progressive billionaire linked to several of the sort of disinformation projects he is now trying to combat.<\/p>\n<p>LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman\u2019s investment fund donated an undisclosed amount to Indivisible, an advocacy group launching the new effort to track conservative disinformation. The fund, Investing in US, has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/12\/19\/us\/alabama-senate-roy-jones-russia.html?module=inline\">financed<\/a> a group that created fake social media personas to suppress Republican voter turnout in Alabama&#8217;s 2017 special Senate election. Indivisible thinks its &#8220;Truth Brigade&#8221; can help flag misinformation better than social media algorithms, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/nicholasreimann\/2021\/06\/01\/progressive-group-indivisible-launching-grassroots-disinformation-fighting-campaign\/?sh=7cc3c2ab5c6c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to <em>Forbes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Social media platforms have increased their efforts to contain &#8220;disinformation&#8221; in recent months, often with mixed results. Until recently, Facebook <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/coronavirus\/facebook-fact-checks-scientific-piece-arguing-coronavirus-originated-in-chinese-lab\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flagged<\/a> posts claiming the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab, even as the theory gained traction in the scientific community. LinkedIn, the only American social network in China, recently <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/in-unprecedented-move-linkedin-censors-uk-based-china-critic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">censored<\/a> a China critic based in the United Kingdom who referred to the Chinese government as an &#8220;oppressive dictatorship.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Critics say Hoffman\u2019s involvement casts doubt on the Truth Brigade\u2019s ability to effectively police disinformation. &#8220;A man who invests in social media projects aimed at hardball political disinformation is not one whose allies can be trusted,&#8221; said Scott Walter, president of Capital Research Center, which tracks liberal dark money groups.<\/p>\n<p>The Alabama special election wasn\u2019t Hoffman\u2019s only run-in with disinformation. Facebook investigated whether a Hoffman-backed initiative called News for Democracy published misleading information targeting Republican voters during the 2018 election.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>New York Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/07\/us\/politics\/democrats-resistance-fundraising.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> in 2017 that Hoffman was a major donor to Indivisible, which was founded in 2016 by two former congressional staffers. Dmitri Mehlhorn, Hoffman\u2019s partner at Investing in US, identified Indivisible as one of the company\u2019s grantees in a December 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@DmitriMehlhorn\/investing-in-us-64afe222face\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post<\/a> on Medium. Mehlhorn did not disclose how much funding went to Indivisible.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, Indivisible members <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/anti-trump-resistance-group-trojan-horse-utah-special-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">registered as Republicans<\/a> in a Utah congressional primary in order to boost a moderate candidate to replace outgoing representative Jason Chaffetz.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear whether Investing in US still funds Indivisible or whether any of its money will be used specifically for the Truth Brigade. Neither group responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>While Indivisible bills itself as a grassroots organization, its donors are among the wealthiest supporters of the progressive movement. In addition to Hoffman, organizations directed by billionaire financier George Soros and the late banking magnate Herb Sandler have given millions to Indivisible.<\/p>\n<p>Soros\u2019s Open Society Foundations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/grants\/past?filter_keyword=indivisible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gave<\/a> $2.6 million to Indivisible from 2017 to 2019. Democracy PAC, which was formed by Soros, <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/fecimg\/?202104199443825378\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gave<\/a> $500,000 last year to Indivisible\u2019s political action committee, Indivisible Action. <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/soros-donor-network-quietly-launched-new-big-money-entities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Strategic Victory Fund<\/a>, a super PAC formed by the Soros-backed Democracy Alliance, <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/fecimg\/?202104199443827085\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contributed<\/a> $150,000 to Indivisible Action last year.<\/p>\n<p>The Sandler Foundation gave $2.25 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/organizations\/943147856\/201901339349302285\/IRS990ScheduleI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2018<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/organizations\/943147856\/202021369349303167\/IRS990ScheduleI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2019<\/a> to Indivisible Civic Engagement, an offshoot of Indivisible.<\/p>\n<p>Walter questions whether Indivisible is forming the Truth Brigade to fight disinformation, or as a fundraising ploy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you are these people you want thousands of folks regularly interacting with you. That\u2019s a great way to fundraise,&#8221; said Walter, whose watchdog group published <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/indivisibly-divided-faux-insurgents-for-the-professional-left\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a report<\/a> on Indivisible in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Indivisible is no stranger to political controversy. The group also <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/embattled-california-dems-team-up-with-defund-the-police-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">supported defunding police<\/a> departments and <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/courts\/left-wing-dark-money-groups-unite-to-undo-trumps-judicial-legacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">packing<\/a> the Supreme Court. It has partnered with the Women\u2019s March, the left-wing resistance group whose leaders have a long history of anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats Indivisible&#8217;s new project aims to purge conservative disinformation from social media  Reid Hoffman and Joi Ito \/ Getty Images  Chuck Ross \u2022 June &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2279114,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-513213152-736x514-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"New Liberal \u2018Truth Brigade\u2019 Has Ties to Billionaire Who Peddled Disinformation","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-551244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-513213152-736x514-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"New Liberal \u2018Truth Brigade\u2019 Has Ties to Billionaire Who Peddled Disinformation","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551244","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=551244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2279114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}