House Republicans are taking aim at the Pentagon’s censorship regime in the latest version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In June, Rep. Richard McCormick, R-Ga., attached an amendment to the annual defense bill to strip the department of its ability to engage in censorship or the blacklisting of news sources. Under the amendment, the Defense Department would be prohibited from signing new contracts with a constellation of censorship organizations known to blacklist conservative news. Groups explicitly listed include NewsGuard, the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), Graphika Technologies, or “any other entity the function of which is to advise the censorship or blacklisting of news sources based on subjective criteria or political biases, under the stated function of ‘fact checking’ or otherwise removing ‘misinformation.’”
Censors such as GDI and NewsGuard have attempted to impose a censorship regime that penalizes conservative outlets on behalf of the federal government. GDI is a British group that compiles secretive lists of news organizations the group encourages major corporations to boycott. Clients include advertisers who are looking to plug their products online and consult with such “disinformation” groups for advice on which websites to hire.
The index was exposed in February for keeping a list of blacklisted websites that include The Federalist, The American Spectator, Newsmax, The American Conservative, One America News, The Blaze, The Daily Wire, RealClearPolitics, Reason, and the New York Post. GDI’s partners have included the U.S. State Department and previously the National Endowment for Democracy, the latter of which is almost entirely funded by the former. According to
