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The federal government allegedly collaborated with “media censorship organizations” to manipulate public discourse from 2016
Elon Musk has described as “crazy” a federal initiative which allegedly sought to silence US citizens under the guise of fighting foreign disinformation. The Global Engagement Center (GEC), part of the US State Department, was launched in 2016 under President Barack Obama and operated until its closure in December 2024.
The GEC is the subject of an investigation by the conservative advocacy group America First Legal (AFL) published on Thursday. The report scrutinized GEC communications with Washington’s primary funding channel for political projects abroad, the US Agency for International Development (USAID); the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO); and various “media censorship organizations,” including Poynter and NewsGuard — both of which brand themselves as watchdogs against misinformation, the latter boasting former CIA staff among its founders and board.
According to AFL, the entities allegedly “work[ed] in lock-step to manipulate public discourse, control media narratives, and suppress free speech,” based on documents obtained through litigation against the GEC.
“Wow, this is crazy!” Musk wrote on X, reposting a link to the report.
READ MORE: US shuts down its ‘propaganda and censorship’ agency
The Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network received at least $492,000 from organizations tied to billionaire activist George Soros between 2016 and 2020. Claiming to advise social media companies on content moderation policies, the network has been labeled a “global Soros-backed Ministry of Truth” by critics.
NewsGuard claims to independently evaluate the credibility of online sources while featuring senior figures from the US national security apparatus on its advisory board, including former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and ex-CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden.
”The partnership between USAID and the Global Engagement Center is bad news for the American people,” stated AFL legal counsel Andrew Block regarding the organization’s recent disclosures. “Add in the fact that they were coordinating with internet censorship enforcers at NewsGuard and Poynter, and you can start to see just how dangerous this unholy alliance is for free speech and free expression.”