On Wednesday (May 24), ‘America First Legal’ (AFL) took to Twitter to expose how the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) of the US State Department is working with private media outlets to peddle deep state propaganda.
A centre-right non-profit organisation, AFL, secured documents against the GEC under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Earlier this month, it filed a lawsuit against the ‘private parties’ which conspired with the US federal government to conduct mass surveillance and censor the free speech of American citizens.
AFL noted that millions of conservative Americans were targeted for their social media posts on vaccine mandates, election integrity, and Covid-19 vaccines.
/1🚨BREAKING — America First Legal released documents obtained from a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of State, exposing how the Global Engagement Center carries out state propaganda through private media organizations.
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
Disturbing thread below ⤵️
The organisation revealed that the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) of the US State Department continues to work closely with George Soros-funded ‘fact checkers’, associated with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to control the global media narrative.
America First Legal pointed out that the fact-checkers, currently coordinating with GEC, are also funded by the likes of Omidyar Network, Google, Facebook, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Opindia reported in May 2021 that a concerted manner by the Left ecosystem, in cahoots with their big business masters, was underway. We emphasised how they prop up dubious networks such as IFCN to hijack a particular phenomenon and sustain their monopoly over the narrative.
/4 Members of this vast cartel range from independent foreign journalists to professional fact-checkers to American mainstream media organizations like the Associated Press and USA Today.
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
Notably, Poynter’s IFCN received a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize nomination. pic.twitter.com/WMK43siNUN
IFCN also received its initial funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, which is in turn funded by the US State Department.
“Members of this vast cartel range from independent foreign journalists to professional fact-checkers to American mainstream media organizations like the Associated Press and USA Today. Notably, Poynter’s IFCN received a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize nomination,” AFL pointed out.
The GEC has been working with IFCN affiliates in countries such as Tunisia and propagating their ‘fact-checking methods’ to censor politically incorrect narratives. According to America First Legal, email exchanges show IFCN pestering the US State Department to ‘fund’ more of their programmes in Egypt.
/11 When threatened, they join together to protect their mutual interests. pic.twitter.com/o6Z5u2N5OG
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
AFL highlighted how the cabal of media outlets discredit those who are not willing to toe the narrative of the Biden administration. It highlighted how one David Mikkelson of Snopes, infamous for rampant plagiarism, wanted to kick out right-wing news outlet Daily Caller from a Google group on combating fake news.
This was despite the fact that another member in the same group pointed out that leftist news organisations such as MSNBC and CNN had the same ‘source credibility’ as Daily Caller.
“The work of the international fact-checking cartel might be admirable if it actually lived up to its “commitment to Non-partisanship and Fairness,” but their methods appear strongly biased towards the promotion of State-approved talking points,” AFL noted.
/14 The work of the international fact-checking cartel might be admirable if it actually lived up to its “commitment to Non-partisanship and Fairness,” but their methods appear strongly biased towards the promotion of State-approved talking points. https://t.co/zCeAbumQ2y
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
‘America First Legal’ pointed out that news organisations, which were earlier known for investigative journalism began to treat the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) of the US State Department as the ultimate harbinger of truth.
It pointed out the case of The Washington Post, which maliciously attempted to discredit the Hunter Biden story covered by The New York Post. The explosive story was about Hunter Biden’s problematic emails with a Ukrainian gas company executive from Burisma in the run-up to the 2020 US Presidential elections.
AFL also highlighted how The Washington Post was more than willing to allude to the dubious ‘Russian disinformation’ conspiracy theory, which was fed by the GEC.
/18 On October 14, 2020, the New York Post published the now-infamous story based on a laptop detailing how Hunter Biden used the position and influence of his father for personal gain and with the apparent awareness of now-President Biden…
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
“Mainstream media outlets eagerly rely on the GEC as an authoritative source based on its credibility and presumed access to accurate intelligence,” AFL emphasised.
It stated how a GEC officer persuaded a journalist named Michael Gordon, working for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), to cover the US State Department’s talking points on the Covid-19 vaccine and so-called Russian disinformation.
The development took place, one day before the official transfer of power to the Biden administration. In another instance, a New York Times (NYT) reporter was introduced to the GEC for his story on ‘Russian anti-vax disinformation.’
/29 Meanwhile, on February 2, 2021, New York Times reporter Julian Barnes obtains an introduction to the GEC through his National Security Agency (NSA) contact for his story on “Russian anti-vax disinformation.” pic.twitter.com/yevPs4bLX2
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
Email transcripts, accessed by America First Legal, show the GEC threatening journalists to compile its talking points in the form of a report and publish it imminently.
/32 Finally, on March 7, 2021, the Wall Street Journal published the story the GEC wanted. https://t.co/sfPfe2I1bL pic.twitter.com/eD4lrZVUHS
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
AFL stated, “The GEC’s financial support of these media organizations also implicates the supposed “independence” of their reporting.” It pointed out how news outlets such as New York Times and Associated Press are dependent on funds from the US Department of State.
/37 The Associated Press also appears to rely on funding from the Department of State in the Pacific Islands. pic.twitter.com/qW6Cn3XjeG
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
While speaking about the development, the Vice-President of AFL Gene Hamilton said, “Over the last two years, we have proven to the American people that there is–in fact–an intricate web of individuals and organizations that influence everything you see presented as objectively ‘true’ or ‘fact’ in the media.”
“While it is undeniably true that all governments throughout history have conducted campaigns to influence foreign audiences, it is now undeniably true that the same tactics and techniques are being used to influence perceptions amongst the American people domestically,” he added.
“We will continue to expose this influence operation to the American people and to bring accountability where we can,“ Gene Hamilton concluded.
