State Department Parts Ways With Liberal ‘Disinformation’ Watchdog

The Department of State is cutting its funding of the Global Disinformation Index after reports surfaced in recent days that the London-based media watchdog group made concerted efforts to steer advertisers away from conservative-leaning websites in favor of more liberal ones.

The Global Disinformation Index labeled a number of right-leaning American media outlets as “risky” and encouraged advertisers to take their business elsewhere. The websites included the American Spectator, the Federalist, the Daily Wire, RealClearPolitics, Reason magazine, the New York Post, and the Washington Examiner, which broke the story of the GDI’s partisan leanings.

The GDI deemed a number of liberal outlets “least risky,” including ProPublica, National Public Radio, HuffPost, Buzzfeed News, and the Washington Post.

The GDI had received more than $300,000 in grants through two state department offices, one of them the National Endowment for Democracy.

The department said its initial impetus to fund the Global Disinformation Index came from its work abroad — including in Communist China — where it sought to fight propaganda from authoritarian regimes.

“We recognize the important work GDI has done with NED support in other countries to help preserve the integrity of the information space and counter authoritarian influence,” the endowment said in a statement, according to the Washington Times.

The NED told the Washington Times that it had “recently” become aware of the project centered on American media and did not fund it.

The foundation said that given its “commitment to avoid the perception that NED is engaged in any work domestically, directly or indirectly, we will no longer provide financial support to GDI.”  

It added: “We have strict policies and practices in place so that NED and the work we fund remains internationally focused, ensuring the Endowment does not become involved in domestic politics.”

https://www.nysun.com/article/state-department-parts-ways-with-liberal-disinformation-watchdog?

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