December NewsGuard & Censorship Update

OVERVIEW

Media censorship is alive and well, but the IMC is making real progress to stamp it out. As you’ll read in this month’s update, our wins have put media monitors such as NewsGuard on alert.

At the federal level, we secured an anti-media censorship provision in the NDAA and at the state level, we’ve moved a Statement of Principles on News Censorship forward with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

IMC members also continue to amplify the issue of media censorship by publishing and pushing out groundbreaking stories across their platforms. This has made a real impact. Case in point: Congress has effectively shuttered The Global Engagement Center, a State Department office that was bankrolling media monitors like NewsGuard, after a series of stories by The Washington Examiner’s Gabe Kaminsky and journalist Matt Taibbi, which exposed the government-funded censorship scheme.

Momentum is on our side, with a New Year, new Administration and a new Congress that offer tremendous opportunity for the IMC to make a real impact.

GOVERNMENT

Federal

Section 1555 of the 2024 NDAA was intended to prevent advertising agencies that contract with DoD from funding censorship. Newsmax worked with Speaker Johnson and the Republican Armed Services Committee to extend the provision for FY 2025. The Speaker highlighted the extensions in his NDAA statement, specifically calling  out NewsGuard (see below). Going forward, we plan to work towards strengthening it so that the DoD enforces Section 1555.

State

The American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Communications and Technology Taskforce approved a Statement of Principles on News Censorship.

The statement encourages government agencies to communicate official notices on platforms where their constituents frequent, not just on mainstream news outlets. The statement now goes to the full ALEC board for their approval.

Statement of Principles on News Censorship

1. Determinations of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation are inherently political and subjective Any organization claiming to engage in “fact-checking” or identifying misinformation, disinformation or malinformation is using subjective criteria to censor speech. What constitutes misinformation, disinformation or malinformation is an inherently political determination that chills free speech and Freedom of the Press. Government has a First Amendment obligation not to engage in such censorship or otherwise support organizations engaged in such activities.
2. Government should not pick winners and losers based on ideology or alleged bias. When state agencies develop constituent outreach campaigns (such as a public service announcement raising awareness), or work with professional marketers or advertisers, they should base ad placement decisions on an outlet’s objective, quantitative metrics, such as audience size, viewership, and

demographic information. They should not discriminate against outlets based on subjective, content-based criteria, adherence to perceived journalistic standards or determinations of misinformation, disinformation or malinformation.

3. Government should not be in the business of “fact-checking” news outlets or “protecting the public” from outlets that spread alleged misinformation, or provide material support to entities that do the same. Government should prioritize contracting decisions with advertising and marketing agencies that do not place advertisements using political criteria, and eschew relationships with third party services that engage in fact checking or determinations of subjective, content- based criteria, adherence to perceived journalistic standards or determinations of misinformation, disinformation or malinformation.
4. The antidote to misinformation, disinformation or malinformation is more speech, not censorship. The U.S. Supreme Court has long abided by the Counterspeech Doctrine – a principle that the solution to bad speech is more speech, not censorship or “enforced ” The private sector is already leading on this issue. Many social media platforms in the private sector have already integrated “Community Notes” features that allow other users to add additional context or critique posts, voted on by the platform’s users.

OMNICON-INTERPUBLIC MERGER

Two of the giants of the advertising world, Omnicom and Interpublic, are seeking to  merge in a $13 billion deal. Both companies use NewsGuard and participate in censorship programs that target conservative media. This merger would further consolidate major players in the censorship cartel and limit competition.

It will most certainly need review by anti-trust authorities. The IMC will be monitoring this transaction and taking steps to make sure our voice is heard in several arenas.

SPEAKER JOHNSON STATEMENT

For Immediate Release December 11, 2024 Contact: Athina Lawson

Speaker Johnson Statement on House Passage of the FY25 NDAA

WASHINGTON — Speaker Johnson released the following statement commending the passage of H.R. 5009, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.

“Today’s passage of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes important wins for our troops and ensures our military has the necessary resources and support to defend our great nation. Our men and women in uniform should know their first obligation is protecting our nation, not woke ideology. It’s disappointing to see 124 of my Democrat colleagues vote against our brave men and women in uniform over policies that have nothing to do with their intended mission.

“That is why this year’s NDAA refocuses our military on its core mission of defending America. The legislation supports law enforcement operations and the deployment of the National Guard to the southwest border, expedites innovation and reduces the acquisition timeline for new weaponry, supports our allies, and strengthens our nuclear posture and missile defense programs.

“Because we believe in peace through strength, we blocked the Biden Administration’s plan to reduce the number of US special forces. We remain determined to confront increasingly hostile threats from Communist China, Russia, and Iran, and this legislation provides our military with the tools they need to deter our enemies and keep America safe.

“We also believe it’s important to refocus the Pentagon on military lethality, not radical woke ideology. This legislation permanently bans transgender treatment for minors, prohibits critical race theory in military academies, ends the DEI bureaucracy, and combats antisemitism.

“This legislation also reinforces our commitment to America’s brave men and women in uniform, and their families, by making landmark investments in their quality of life. I’m proud that we’re providing significant pay increases to our servicemembers, reducing barriers to employment for military spouses, and improving military housing and access to childcare.

“The safety and security of the American people is top priority, and this bill ensures our military has the resources and capabilities needed to remain the most powerful force in the world.”

Highlights from FY25 NDAA Legislation:

• Provide junior enlisted servicemembers with a 5% pay raise.
• Fully support the deployment of National Guard at the southwest border to intercept illegal aliens and drugs.
• Includes dozens of sections that address PRC security threats and economic security issues
• Prevent Chinese espionage in our military, supply chains, and research
• Expand U.S.-Israel military exercises and fully fund cooperative missile defense
• Increase funding for S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.
• Save $31 billion by cutting inefficient programs, obsolete weapons, and bloated Pentagon bureaucracy.
• Cut $4 billion in programs that do not meet
• ​
• Abolish the DEI bureaucracy and climate change
• Bans the teaching, training, or promotion of critical race
• Permanently ban transgender medical treatment for
• Counter antisemitism by prohibiting sale of goods at DOD commissaries and exchanges from any entities that have or are engaged in a boycott of Israel.

FY25 NDAA legislative text and summary available here.

MEDIA

RealClear Politics 12/30/24, Obama’s ‘Censorship’ Office Goes Bankrupt, by Gabe Kaminsky

Washington Post 12/24/24, This Company Rates Websites’ Credibility. The Right Wants  it Stopped, by Will Oremus and Naomi Nix

Newsmax 12/23/24, Ted Cruz Demands Microsof t Answer on NewsGuard, Censorship, by Charlie McCarthy

RealClear Politics12/20/24, How the Lef t will Defend its Censorship Regime Against  Trump, by Bradley Smith

New York Post 12/13/24, How Woke Capitalism Could Sink Megamerger of Ad Giants  Omnicom and Interpublic, by Charles Gasparino

Daily Wire 12/13/24, State Department Will Shutter Propaganda Agency Tied to  Domestic ‘Disinformation’ Censorship, by Luke Rosiak

Washington Examiner 12/10/24, State Department Notifies Congress of Plans to Shutter ‘Censorship’ Agency, by Gabe Kaminsky

Newsmax 12/10/24, Trump to Appoint Andrew Ferguson as FTC Chair, by Mark Swanson

Newsmax 12/9/24, FTC’s Andrew Ferguson Targets Big Tech, NewsGuard Censorship, by Newsmax Wires

RealClear 12/4/24, The Lie at the Core of the Censorship Industry, Mike Benz on Joe Rogan

RealClear 12/3/24, FCC Pick Carr Wants to, “Smash Censorship Cartel”, by Tim Hains

The American Conservative 11/29/24, DOGE’s Best First Target: The National  Endowment for Democracy, by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

Washington Times 11/25/24, Trump’s Pick for FCC Chair Says Fighting Censorship is  His No. 1 Priority, by Tom Howell Jr.

Just the News 11/24/24, Among the Media Watchdogs, NewsGuard, Which Often Targets Conservative Outlets, is Most Feared, by Paul Bond

Newsmax 11/14/24, FCC’s Carr Probes Big Tech ‘Censorship Cartel,’ NewsGuard, by Charlie McCarthy

The Federalist 11/10/24, Judge Forces Feds to Reveal More Evidence of Social Media  Censorship, by Joy Pullman

MRC 11/8/24, MRC President Brent Bozell Endorses Free Speech Champion Brendan Carr for FCC Chairman, by Michael Morris

The American Mind 11/4/24, The Censorship Industrial Presidency, by Rachel Bovard