Guardian of Truth

NewsGuard Sued for Being Evil

NewsGuard - https://www.newsguardtech.com/ - is not a fact checker, per se.  It’s even more important – and insidious.

NewsGuard is a subscription service that people and companies and government agencies like the Department of Defense can contract with to receive their website trustworthiness ratings and such.  In other words, they fact check entire organizations and not individual stories.

It says it is apolitical and its funders do not impact its decisions and even lists nine rating “criteria” it uses to objectively decide if a website is to be trusted. A company can check a rating and then decide to spend money on ads without fear of being tied to bad media, or “misinformation.” The criteria would in fact earn the New York Times a zero rating in regards to the Gaza hospital bombing story.  It won’t - especially from an “apolitical” organization that gives the CBS Evening News a 10 and Tucker Carlson a 0 – but still, one can hope…

The ratings are also used to impugn and/or “warning tag” the content of certain sites, thereby making them more susceptible to social media blacklisting, etc.

That means – despite the nauseating hypocrisy of having serial Congressional liar and former CIA director Michael Hayden on its board -  a NewsGuard rating is extremely important financially.

And that’s why Consortium News sued them – and the Department of Defense - https://consortiumnews.com/2023/10/23/us-government-newsguard-sued-by-consortium-news/ .

You see, NewsGuard declared Consortium untrustworthy, slapping a warning on the 20,000 pieces it has produced since its founding by an award-winning reporter in 1995.  It did so after finding fault with six pieces.

“When media groups are condemned by the government as ‘anti-U.S.’ and are accused of publishing ‘false content’ because they disagree with U.S. policies, the result is self-censorship and a destruction of the public debate intended by the First Amendment,” said Consortium’s attorney Bruce Afran.

From the above piece:

NewsGuard uses its software to tag targeted news sites, including all 20,000+ Consortium News articles and videos published since 1995, with warnings to “proceed with caution,” telling NewsGuard subscribers that Consortium News produces “disinformation,” “false content” and is an “anti-U.S.” media organization, even though NewsGuard only took issue with a total of six CN articles and none of its videos.  

Consortium does report on controversial subjects and takes views that many find beyond the pale – for example, the site is very, very (wrongly) pro-Palestinian in the current conflict.  But the first amendment is the first amendment for a reason and, oddly, the site’s consistent opposition to a number U.S. foreign policy positions may go a long way to prove their point:

The Pentagon funds a group that downgrades the financial viability and societal impact of a website that publishes stuff it disagrees with.

Not sure what else except government-sponsored censorship that could be called.

But NewsGuard is not the only group that’s gets money to censor government opponents.  The Center for Countering Digital Hate - https://counterhate.com/ – again, not a specific fact checker but a site and platform rater. It says it lives off of donations, though the tax filings of the US version of the group (it started in the UK and continues to focus its work there) do not list who donated the $1.4 million they took in last year.

The CCDH produces reports that it them releases around the world, reports that are then used to steer ad dollars - https://counterhate.com/topic/stop-funding-misinformation/ .

They loathe Substack and- now that Elon Musk owns it – Twitter/X.  In fact, Musk has sued the group, blaming it for X’s significant drop in revenue.  The CCDH repeatedly claims that under his watch hate crimes, misinformation, global sadness, and being a meany-butt have increased by infinity percent. 

Companies that are terrified of even the hint of a scandal – and/or ones with a very active DEI stance – have fled in droves based on these, shall we say, factually challenged reports.

The vile condescension of the CCDH and it’s “we will do the thinking for you” philosophy comes though very clearly in a recent blog piece: https://counterhate.com/blog/how-to-navigate-online-disinformation-and-propaganda-and-practicing-information-resilience/ .

The missive includes such gems – beyond Elon is Evil -  as: 

·         Reputable journalists or established news organizations (as it defines them) are more reliable sources of information.

·         Don’t share distressing content (even it’s true) - Some people share distressing videos of violence, in order to highlight their horror at what has been happening. However, while the sentiment may be well-meaning, it may help to spread content that is often made for an ulterior motive or the purpose of propaganda

·         Listen to experts, scholars, and analysts who have in-depth knowledge of the situation. Their insights can provide valuable context and understanding. A loud opinion online doesn’t make you an expert. This week’s ‘Middle East Geo-Political experts’ were often last week’s vaccine ‘experts’. Everyone’s got an opinion, and not all opinions are equal.

This last suggestion is hysterically egregious - the “real” experts did such a great job on the vaccine issues, didn’t they?

And in case things get a bit too much, Seek professional help:

If you find yourself struggling to cope with the distressing images and information, consider speaking to a mental health professional.

Remember that in times of crisis, it’s crucial to prioritize responsible sharing of information, accurate reporting, and self-care. By following these guidelines, you can build your own resilience and help create an information ecosystem that prioritizes truth over lies.

We can’t have our snowflakes melting, now can we?

Fact checkers are only the tip of the censorship iceberg, as they rely on and are tied to groups like CCDH and NewsGuard.  The circularity of the arguments is their greatest public relations strength – see, a non-profit said it so it must be true and you have to ignore that the non-profit gets it money from the government – and their greatest weakness. 

Typically for a regular person, if they have a news bubble it has been built over time – NewsGuard and CCDH built their own bubble overnight and are forcing people inside.

For their own good, of course.