Left-Wing NewsGuard Sued For Alleged Violation Of First Amendment
A lawsuit was lodged Monday against the federal government and what many believe is its censorship partner, NewsGuard Technologies. The Consortium for Independent Journalists charged defamation and violations of First Amendment rights.
The landmark suit was filed in the Southern District of New York. It noted that the Pentagon in Sept. 2021 awarded a $750,000 contract to NewsGuard.
Consortium News was founded about 25 years ago by Associated Press journalist Robert Perry. His stated goal was to provide a source apart from the narrative of the mainstream media.
The filing declared that Washington and NewsGuard worked together in “labeling, stigmatizing and defaming American media organizations that oppose or dissent from American foreign and defense policy, particularly as to Russia and Ukraine.”
Plaintiffs further charged the censorship campaign is enabled by a contract between the Department of Defense Cyber Command and NewsGuard’s “Misinformation Fingerprints” program.
NewsGuard stands accused of defaming Consortium News. The federal government was also sued for working with the group in violation of the First Amendment.
The left-wing outfit touts itself as a “watchdog.” In reality, it apparently functions as a branch of a totalitarian regime that looks to stifle the free exchange of ideas and control the public narrative. That is hardly the role of a citizen “watchdog.”
Among the many accusations NewsGuard faces is pressuring news organizations to “alter viewpoints” that counter the official line. This includes information that runs contrary to the position of the U.S. and its allies.
Plaintiffs seek $13 million in damages and a permanent injunction “declaring the joint program unconstitutional.”
The group noted that NewGuard since 1995 labeled all 20,000 articles and pieces of its news content “disinformation” and “false content.” This despite taking direct issue with only six articles.
Consortium News attorney Bruce Afran decried the chilling effect such a partnership between Washington and a censoring group has on the First Amendment. It resulted, he said, in condemnation by the government as “anti-U.S.”
This leads directly to self-censorship and suppression of public debate and constitutionally protected free speech.
Rick Grenell is a former acting Director of National Intelligence for the Trump administration. He told Newsmax in March that “this is how regimes control the narrative. This is how they control the media.”
Any advocate of civil liberties and constitutional freedoms should be appalled that such an arrangement with the Pentagon exists.
