{"id":192423,"date":"2023-10-23T15:41:24","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=192423"},"modified":"2023-10-23T15:44:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:44:55","slug":"super-scam-newsguard-and-us-govt-co-conspirator-sued-by-consortium-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=192423","title":{"rendered":"<h2><b><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Super Scam NewsGuard and Co-Conspirator US Government Sued by Consortium News<\/span><\/b><\/h2>"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>NewsGuard &amp; US Govt. Sued By Consortium News; Musk Slams &#8216;Scam&#8217;<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->ZeroHedge.com<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard, a company which claims to rate media outlets&#8217; level of &#8216;trustworthiness&#8217; and therefore has a meaningful influence over ad revenue,\u00a0<strong>has been sued along with the Biden administration by Consortium News,\u00a0<\/strong>which also named the Pentagon&#8217;s Cyber Command for &#8220;contracting with NewsGuard to identify, report and abridge the speech of American media organizations that dissent from U.S. official positions on foreign policy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/newsguard.jpg?itok=7pBq6sOc\" data-image-external-href=\"\" data-image-href=\"\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/newsguard.jpg?itok=7pBq6sOc\" data-link-option=\"0\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"inline-images image-style-inline-images\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/newsguard.jpg?itok=7pBq6sOc\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"6ad553b0-a3a0-4188-9769-077aa2a2a39a\" data-responsive-image-style=\"inline_images\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1mmMTpNSN4PavJe6dv64HYuBuLY4T2iBn\/view\">complaint<\/a>,\u00a0<strong>NewsGuard is &#8220;acting jointly or in concert with the United States to coerce news organizations to alter viewpoints&#8221;<\/strong> regarding Ukraine, Russia and Syria, and has imposed a form of &#8220;censorship and repression of views&#8221; that diverge from US policies and those of its allies, the complaint says.<\/p>\n<p>Consortium also notes that\u00a0<strong>NewsGuard has branded the entirety of Consortium News&#8217; 20,000+ articles as &#8216;unreliable&#8217; based on\u00a0<\/strong><strong>just\u00a0<em>six<\/em>\u00a0examples they took issue with<\/strong>\u00a0(which is the exact same thing they do with\u00a0<em>ZeroHedge\u00a0<\/em>and other independent media).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">NewsGuard uses its software to tag targeted news sites, including all 20,000+ Consortium News articles an videos published since 1995, with warnings to &#8220;proceed with caution,&#8221; telling NewsGuard subscribers that Consortium News produces &#8220;disinformation,&#8221; &#8220;false content&#8221; and is an &#8220;anti-U.S.&#8221; media organization, even\u00a0<strong>though NewsGuard only took issue with a total of six CN articles and none of its videos.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\"><strong>The complaint seeks a permanent injunction declaring the joint program unconstitutional;<\/strong>\u00a0barring the government and NewsGuard from continuing such practices and more than $13 million in damages for defamation and civil rights violations. &#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Consortiumnews\/status\/1716453932862722153\">Consortium News<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_hZYJO2JgvQ?si=KxUAY8rIvIJKu03P\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Last week former Trump administration official Mike Benz noted on X that\u00a0<strong>Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is an adviser to NewsGuard<\/strong>, and that the nanny organization was &#8220;knee deep in a plot to get [governments] to bankrupt alternative news. NewsGuard worked [with the] EU on new disinformation code. Its biz model has \u2018disinformation compliance\u2019 services [with the] censorship laws it promotes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/107300662-1694691590740-gettyimages-1663931480-AFP_33V37LC.jpeg.jpg?itok=ZLmbzEFI\" data-image-external-href=\"\" data-image-href=\"\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/107300662-1694691590740-gettyimages-1663931480-AFP_33V37LC.jpeg.jpg?itok=ZLmbzEFI\" data-link-option=\"0\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"inline-images image-style-inline-images\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/107300662-1694691590740-gettyimages-1663931480-AFP_33V37LC.jpeg.jpg?itok=ZLmbzEFI\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"6d612584-7c2f-43f7-b0c2-85f1908f185d\" data-responsive-image-style=\"inline_images\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1714876810112938111&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fmarkets%2Fnewsguard-us-govt-sued-consortium-news-musk-slams-scam&amp;sessionId=843407aabcee1ef7ac004f6029ca0d05499486e5&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1714876810112938111\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1715044446604021950&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fmarkets%2Fnewsguard-us-govt-sued-consortium-news-musk-slams-scam&amp;sessionId=843407aabcee1ef7ac004f6029ca0d05499486e5&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1715044446604021950\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In another X thread, Elon Musk called Newsguard a &#8220;scam&#8221; after they gave political commentator Tim Pool a strike &#8220;because we ran 5 stories out of nearly 5,000 that quoted [former President Donald] Trump.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1715048883993100440&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fmarkets%2Fnewsguard-us-govt-sued-consortium-news-musk-slams-scam&amp;sessionId=843407aabcee1ef7ac004f6029ca0d05499486e5&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1715048883993100440\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Acording to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncoverdc.com\/2023\/02\/21\/newsguard-misinfo-watchdog-contracts-with-dod-who-pfizer-microsoft-and-aft\/\"><em>Uncover DC<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<strong>NewsGuard has contracts with the DoD, WHO, Pfizer, Microsoft &amp; AFT<em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Co-CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz claim it is the\u00a0<em><strong>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/newsguard-praised-as-librarians-of-the-internet\/\">librarian<\/a>\u00a0for the internet.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Set up specifically to rate online journalistic integrity, Brill states NewsGuard provides services that\u00a0<em><strong>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/01\/16\/media\/newsguard-startup-profit-expands\/index.html\">explain to people<\/a>\u00a0something about the reliability and trustworthiness and background of those who are feeding them the news.\u201d<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Eric Effron is the organization\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/about\/team\/eric-effron\/\">\u00a0Editorial Director<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/about\/team\/steven-brill\/\">Brill is a Yale graduate<\/a>\u00a0and lawyer who has authored multiple best-selling books and was, among other things, CEO of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/clear-airport-verified-identity-pass-calls-it-quits-updated\/\">Verified Identity Pass, Inc<\/a>., the first U.S. biometric Voluntary Credentialing Program that went bankrupt in 2009. It was the parent company of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.clearme.com\/how-it-works\">CLEAR<\/a>\u00a0which went back\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/BL-BANKB-12005\">online in 2010<\/a>\u00a0and then went<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/06\/30\/biometrics-company-clear-opens-higher-on-first-day-as-public-company-.html\">\u00a0public in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mintpressnews.com\/newsguardneocon-backed-fact-checker-plans-to-wage-war-on-independent-media\/253687\/\">MintPressNews<\/a>, \u201cCrovitz\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/about\/team\/gordon-crovitz\/\">held<\/a>\u00a0a number of positions at Dow Jones and the\u00a0<em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>, eventually becoming executive vice president of the former and the publisher of the latter before both were sold to Rupert Murdoch\u2019s News Corp in 2007. He is also a board member of\u00a0<em>Business Insider<\/em>, which has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visualcapitalist.com\/jeff-bezos-empire-chart\/\">received\u00a0over $30 million<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0<em>Washington Post<\/em>\u00a0owner Jeff Bezos in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Crovitz\u2019s alliances might account for the organization\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/newsguard\/\">\u00a0favorable 100 ratings for WSJ<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/special-reports\/special-report-the-u-s-best-and-worst-of-2021\/\">Washington Post<\/a>. He is also a contributor \u201cto books published by the American Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation,\u201d which are also\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/misinformation-monitor\/\">favorably rated<\/a>\u00a0by NewsGuard.<\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n<p><strong>NewsGuard\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/board-of-directors\/\">directors<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/our-advisory-board\/\">advisors<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/about\/our-investors\/\">investors<\/a>\u00a0are an interesting cast of characters.<\/strong>\u00a0One of the investors, Publicis Groupe, is \u201cthe third largest communications group in the world.\u201d Publicic allegedly has \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mintpressnews.com\/newsguardneocon-backed-fact-checker-plans-to-wage-war-on-independent-media\/253687\/\">shadowy ties<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/middle-east\/pr-firm-accused-of-helping-saudi-arabia-whitewash-its-human-rights-record-a6937271.html\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmm-online.com\/home\/channel\/agencies\/gsk-consolidates-pfizer-consumer-healthcare-media-with-publicis-media\/\">Pfizer<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/corporate-spies-revealed\/\">Bayer\/Monsanto<\/a>\u00a0are two of its top clients. Ironically, many of the advisors\/directors are former U.S. government officials,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/about\/board\/bob-friedman\/\">entertainment<\/a>\u00a0moguls, and journalists \u201cassociated with agencies known for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.projectcensored.org\/the-case-against-newsguard\/\">producing false news<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the advisors is Michael Hayden, former Director of the NSA and CIA, who was \u201cthe\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceonline.org\/former_nsa_and_cia_director\">architect of<\/a>\u00a0George W. Bush\u2019s secret domestic spying program.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/thomas-j-ridge\">Tom Ridge<\/a>\u00a0was the first Office of Homeland Security Director following 9\/11.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsguardtech.com\/about\/board\/richard-stengel\/\">Richard Stengel<\/a>\u00a0\u201cis a former senior official in Obama\u2019s state department who once\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.revolver.news\/2021\/10\/revolver-investigation-newsguard-fact-checkers-big-pharma-funding\/\">described his role<\/a>\u00a0as being that of \u2018chief propagandist.<em>\u2018\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-3\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1625338068382146560&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fmarkets%2Fnewsguard-us-govt-sued-consortium-news-musk-slams-scam&amp;sessionId=843407aabcee1ef7ac004f6029ca0d05499486e5&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1625338068382146560\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And as the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/how-newsguard-became-the-establishment-guard-against-independent-media-5417756?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_campaign=ZeroHedge\"><em>Epoch Times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0noted in August,\u00a0<strong>NewsGuard presents itself as objective and nonpartisan.\u00a0<\/strong>Its ratings, the company says, measure media quality on nine criteria, including transparency of authorship and ownership and adherence to standard editorial practice, such as issuing corrections and labeling opinion pieces. In practice, however, most of the score boils down to whether the media present content that, in NewsGuard\u2019s opinion, is truthful.<\/p>\n<p>The \ufb01rst criterion speci\ufb01cally looks at whether the target repeatedly publishes false claims. Another examines whether it publishes news \u201cresponsibly.\u201d But failing the \ufb01rst one means failing the second one, NewsGuard explains on its website. Yet another criterion is whether the target uses accurate headlines.<\/p>\n<p>Again, if the headline says something NewsGuard considers to be untrue, that counts as a failure. Another criterion looks for a policy of regularly correcting errors\u2014or what NewsGuard considers to be errors. Together, these four criteria add up to more than 60 points of the 100-point score.<\/p>\n<p>Even if NewsGuard can\u2019t \ufb01nd anything to dispute, it can still dock points if the target doesn\u2019t su\ufb03ciently represent opinions the company would like to see.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Such content providers \u201cegregiously cherry pick facts or stories to advance opinions,\u201d it argues.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, at least 60 points are needed for NewsGuard to issue its \u201ccredible\u201d rating.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This methodology becomes particularly problematic when NewsGuard itself is wrong on the facts.<\/strong>\u00a0For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company considered false the notion that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. If a news outlet with a perfect score responsibly reported on the extensive circumstantial evidence indicating a lab leak, it ran the risk of NewsGuard decimating its score and falsely labelling it an \u201cunreliable\u201d source that \u201cseverely violates basic journalistic standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The COVID-19 origins issue was a rare case in which NewsGuard eventually issued a correction, though it only went as far as saying that the lab leak hypothesis couldn\u2019t be completely ruled out.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/newsguard-us-govt-sued-consortium-news-musk-slams-scam\">https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/newsguard-us-govt-sued-consortium-news-musk-slams-scam<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NewsGuard &amp; US Govt. Sued By Consortium News; Musk Slams &#8216;Scam&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=192423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=192423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=192423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=192423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}