(RepublicanReport.org) – A US attorney general claims the Biden Administration is censoring American media distributors that disagree with the government’s official news narratives. He and two news outlets are suing the US Department of State and numerous other officials over the matter, claiming the defendants violated their First Amendment rights.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) issued a press release on February 7, 2024. He announced that he filed a memorandum in support of a preliminary injunction against the “censorship apparatus” he believes the Biden Administration is using against US media companies. He alleges officials have been using State Department resources — initially developed to protect Americans from propaganda abroad — to silence outlets publishing views that conflict with theirs. Their systems reportedly disrupt the “ad-funded disinformation model” media outlets use to generate revenue, disrupting income.
According to the court filing, the US Department of State used an agency called the Global Engagement Center (GEC) to affect the reach, circulation, and profitability of certain members of the American press. The department has allegedly been doing so in an effort to limit its voice despite clear indications that the GEC was only supposed to be used against foreign threats. The plaintiffs claim the government is engaging in “information warfare” against media sources it deems “risky” and “unreliable.” The Federalist and The Daily Wire are also plaintiffs in the case.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance is working with Paxton as co-counsel. The organization’s president, Mark Chenoweth, called the prospect of using the GEC’s tools against US citizens “as frightening as it is forbidden.” The plaintiffs ask that the court halt all of the Biden Administration’s actions surrounding the anti-propaganda platform in its use against American targets while it assesses the case.
The filing states that the majority of Americans currently get their news from online media distributors. It adds that a growing number are accessing those sources through social media outlets, which the State Department has also been allegedly targeting.
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