• Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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    5 months ago

    Awww. Are their propaganda outlets getting rightfully flagged as such? Boo hoo.

    Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) launched an investigation into misinformation tracking company NewsGuard on Thursday, citing concerns about “protected First Amendment speech” and “censorship campaigns.”

    Last I checked, NewsGuard is an optional extension/service neither made by the government nor required in any setting. So literally no 1A violations can possibly exist, and nothing is being censored.

    • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
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      5 months ago

      So literally no 1A violations can possibly exist, and nothing is being censored.

      You need to check closer. The DoD has a contract with them; which means that NG has a financial interest in doing what the DoD tells them. An arm of the Federal Government interfering in private media, and yes that includes fact checking, absolutely has the possibility of creating 1A violations.

      • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 months ago

        So this is the kind of comments that makes by brain itch because just dropping this kind of information makes it sound plausible. I did some digging.

        In 2021, Newsguard won a just under $750k contract with the US Air Force for “Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences”. I thought this was odd because Newsguard doesn’t seem like a research institution as much as it is a news rating site.

        Digging into their contract FA864921P1569 and it looks like what the USAF purchased was “Misinformation Fingerprints”.

        This was a one-time purchase, charged as equipment.

        The USAF had as much influence over Newsguard’s 1A rights as I do when I complain to Nestle to stop stealing all of our water.