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From the New York Post: The State Department is using taxpayer money to smear its critics — the ones who exposed its funding of pro-censorship groups that target right-wing news organizations, including The Post, under the guise of combatting “disinformation.”
A bombshell Committee on Small Business report confirmed the reporting of independent journo Matt Taibbi and the Washington Examiner: “The Federal government has fueled a censorship ecosystem impacting not only individuals’ First Amendment rights, but the ability of certain small businesses to compete online.”
One group, Global Disinformation Index, created a “blacklist” of conservative publications for advertisers to avoid, smearing The Post and other major news outlets as “risky” possible spreaders of false info.
GDI received $100,000 from the State Department’s Global Engagement Center between October 2021 and March 2022.
Another group mentioned in the report, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, maintained a private email list that included GEC staffers, called “FakeNewsSci,” where members maligned conservative news organizations that had applied to join Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles.
Taibbi reacted to the New York Post article, writing in a social media post, “I’ve been trying to keep quiet until I have the full picture, but this story about efforts to discredit reporting by me and @gekaminsky goes deeper than I first thought. More to come, but official behavior is far out of bounds.”
I’ve been trying to keep quiet until I have the full picture, but this story about efforts to discredit reporting by me and @gekaminsky goes deeper than I first thought. More to come, but official behavior is far out of bounds. https://t.co/R2P8EI1qZl
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) September 16, 2024
In another post, Taibbi wrote, “The Twitter Files showed that an elaborate government effort to regulate speech was undertaken without oversight/permission. But things would be worse without the First Amendment — instead of a covert effort to censor through private partners, you’d see more overt controls.”
The Twitter Files showed that an elaborate government effort to regulate speech was undertaken without oversight/permission. But things would be worse without the First Amendment — instead of a covert effort to censor through private partners, you’d see more overt controls. https://t.co/YMsH8IzqVo
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) September 15, 2024
Last week, the New York Post announced, “The State Department sought to denigrate “Twitter Files” reporter @mtaibbi, WashEx’s @gekaminsky and @RepJimBanks as part of damage control attempts for having helped fund an advertisers’ “blacklist” of The Post and other outlets allegedly spreading “misinformation.”
Scoop: The State Department sought to denigrate “Twitter Files” reporter @mtaibbi, WashEx’s @gekaminsky and @RepJimBanks as part of damage control attempts for having helped fund an advertisers’ “blacklist” of The Post and other outlets allegedly spreading “misinformation.” pic.twitter.com/NwNmTNPHUx
— Josh Christenson (@jchristenson_) September 13, 2024
Washington Examiner reporter Gabe Kaminsky wrote, “A source close to the State Department further tells me that during an in-camera document review with Congress, Biden officials insinuated that Taibbi engaged in “unsavory conduct in Russia” as a journalist that makes him “not to be trusted.””
New: A source close to the State Department further tells me that during an in-camera document review with Congress, Biden officials insinuated that Taibbi engaged in “unsavory conduct in Russia” as a journalist that makes him “not to be trusted.” https://t.co/7xVsmxiyrG
— Gabe Kaminsky (@gekaminsky) September 14, 2024
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