May 2025 Newsletter

May 2025 Report

Inside This Edition:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Announces the Dismantling of the Censorship Industrial Complex within the State Department
House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Censorship Industrial Complex
State Department Nominee Sarah Rogers, a Free Speech Ally, Testifies before US Senate Foreign Relations Committee
State Legislative Efforts to Push Back Against Media Censorship
IBM Announces Commitment to Viewpoint Neutrality in its Advertising Policies
NewsGuard & Censorship Media Roundup

OVERVIEW

Independent and conservative media have long been critical of so-called “independent fact-checkers” for using highly subjective criteria to discern the truth. Turns out, Americans aren’t fond of them either. According to a recent Pew Research poll, support for policing information has dropped over the past two years, with partisan views on this issue narrowing.

The good news is that the Trump Administration has been working swiftly to ensure the free flow of information. This past month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio took drastic action by dismantling entities within the State Department that pushed speech restrictions under the guise of fighting “disinformation.”

In an op-ed, Rubio also pointed out that one such entity – the Global Engagement Center – had close ties to NewsGuard, “a company that rates the reliability of various websites, once again for the purposes of driving traffic and ad revenue away from those rated poorly.”

Rubio’s measure, along with continued Congressional hearings and appointments of free speech allies to key positions, are beginning to crack the foundations of the censorship industrial complex. This is encouraging. Americans have the right to think for themselves, rather than depend on government gatekeepers. The IMC will keep fighting to allow citizens to do just that.

Read on for more details and please keep us posted on your organization’s efforts to stop media censorship and protect the First Amendment.

GOVERNMENT

FEDERAL

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Announces the Dismantling of the Censorship Industrial Complex within the State Department

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the dismantling of the US State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, formerly the Global Engagement Center (GEC).

In an op-ed for The Federalist, Rubio said the GEC’s original mission was to monitor the narratives of terrorist groups and advise the US government on how to respond. That expanded in 2016 to cover foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts. GEC funneled grants to organizations around the world dedicated to pushing speech restrictions under the guise of fighting “disinformation.”

Rubio also wrote, “Another entity receiving State Department dollars was NewsGuard, a company that rates the reliability of various websites, once again for the purposes of driving traffic and ad revenue away from those rated poorly. NewsGuard claims to be nonpartisan — but its board of advisers has included one Rick Stengel, the very man who built the Global Engagement Center, who says Donald Trump uses ISIS propaganda tactics, and who believes that propagandizing the American people is a good thing.”

He added, “If citizens need the government to step in and tell them what is disinformation and what isn’t, then power doesn’t rest with the people at all — it rests instead with the people who write the propaganda telling the public what to believe.”

Read Rubio’s full op-ed here

State Dept Nominee Sarah Rogers, a Free Speech Ally, Testifies before US Senate Foreign Relations Committee

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on several nominations, including that of Sarah Rogers to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy.

As part of her testimony Rogers said, “We have heard the CEO of NPR, which is funded in part by the United States, describe the First Amendment as the number one challenge besetting American journalism. But actually free speech, which is America’s most famous freedom, is America’s number one strength. That the right to free speech protects inconvenient speech isn’t a weakness. It’s the whole point.”

US Senator Eric Schmitt posted on X, “Sarah Rogers is a free speech champion—and we’ve worked together on some of the big anti-censorship fights of the past few years. Another sign that this State Department is serious about dismantling the censorship-industrial complex.”

Watch the hearing here.

Watch clip of Rogers’ testimony here.

Read Rogers’ testimony here.

House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Censorship Industrial Complex

The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a South and Central Asia Subcommittee hearing on the Censorship Industrial Complex, chaired by US Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI).

This follows on the heels of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the same topic. The following are highlights that pertain to NewsGuard and media monitors:

Benjamin Weingarten, an investigative journalist and columnist, alleged that the State Department’s former Global Engagement Center (GEC) funded NewsGuard, which he stated aims to systematically defund publications it deems spreads misinformation through the creation of blacklists. He also claimed that NewsGuard has targeted his outlet RealClear Investigations (RCI) by giving it a low rating, which demonstrates NewsGuard considers diversity in opinion as a negative.

Chair Huizenga inquired how the blacklists, such as those posted by NewsGuard, work. Weingarten stated RCI includes sources and opinions from both sides of the aisle for balance. He expressed that blacklists serve to silence conservative voices, placing outlets like RCI at risk of being boycotted by advertisers. He added there is no due process for getting off of a blacklist.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) asserted that the GEC provided $100 million in grants to companies such as NewsGuard, which blacklisted 2000 U.S.-owned outlets.

Weingarten said that taxpayers pay for conservative blacklists, citing the Daily Wire as an example of an outlet whose business viability was damaged after the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) and NewsGuard targeted them.

Additional Resources:

Video of Hearing: https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/censorship-industrial-complex-the-need-for-first-amendment-safeguards-at-the-state-department/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Weingarten’s Testimony: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA19/20250401/118072/HHRG-119-FA19-Wstate-WeingartenB-20250401.pdf

STATE

Legislative Efforts to Stop Media Censorship

The IMC is supporting legislation to prevent state governments from utilizing media monitoring services such as NewsGuard.

Legislation was introduced in Alabama (HB 282) in February that would: prohibit state and local agencies from utilizing media monitoring organizations; prohibit state and local agencies from entering into an agreement with a company that uses media monitoring services; and prohibit state and local agencies from providing support to a media monitoring organization. The legislation is expected to advance out of committee this month.

Similar legislation is being considered in various states.

CORPORATE

IBM Announces Commitment to Viewpoint Neutrality in its Advertising Policies Following Pressure from Heritage Foundation Campaign

IBM updated its corporate policies this week, including its advertising policies, following a pressure campaign by The Heritage Foundation (an IMC member) to highlight the risks corporations face when ideology overtakes accountability.

The company now states on its website, “IBM’s media-buying and content policies are audience-centric, aiming to reach all consumers authentically, and are viewpoint neutral with respect to political or religious status or views.”

IBM had been a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), an entity of the World Federation of Advertisers, which used political bias to determine which media outlets were “safe” for advertisers. GARM notably deemed conservative media outlets harmful, squeezing them out of advertising revenue.

In a statement, Heritage’s Chief Advancement Officer Andy Olivastro said, “The company now has a real opportunity to make good on this commitment and take the lead in setting the tone for the rest of corporate America.”

This is a positive development for IMC members. However, as journalist Isaac Willour noted in The Daily Wire, “But is the scrutiny over? Absolutely not. IBM needs to demonstrate that they’re committed to actually staying the course on being politically-neutral and quota-free.”

MEDIA

IBM Rolls Back DEI, Commits to Political Neutrality

Daily Wire by Isaac Willour, 4/29/25

https://www.dailywire.com/news/ibm-rolls-back-dei-commits-to-political-neutrality

IBM’s Rejection of DEI Will Spark a Corporate Realignment, Shareholder Says

Daily Signal by Tyler O’Neil, 4/28/25

https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/04/28/only-beginning-ibm-rejection-dei-will-spark-corporate-realignment-shareholder-says/#:~:text=IBM’s%20reversal%20isn’t%20the,celebrated%20the%20manufacturing%20investment%20announcement

After Hearing from Independent Women, Meta Oversight Board Moves to Protect Free Speech

Independent Women’s Forum, 4/25/25

https://www.iwf.org/2025/04/25/after-hearing-from-independent-women-meta-oversight-board-moves-to-protect-free-speech-and-biological-truth/

Trump’s Next Target in Dismantling the Censorship Complex Is CISA

The Federalist by Ben Weingarten, 4/23/25