Following the defunding from the UK state, Britain’s paper of record, The Times of London, has joined the chorus of criticism against the quit- wing International Disinformation Index as” self- appointed monitors” which stifle separate journalism to comply with their “ideological prejudice”.
In Britain, more and more people are becoming aware of the negative impact of organizations like the Soros-backed and Global Disinformation Index ( GDI) on press freedoms and that so-called fact-checkers and anti-disinformation groups are nothing more than activists working to advance their agenda.
In an article published on Monday, The Times of London’s editorial staff stated that self-appointed displays of media precision, such as the Global Disinformation Index,” may destroy goal reporting by penalizing websites they disagree with.”
” Though the GDI presents itself as an Âinstitution devoted to the development of” neutrality, freedom and transparency”, in practice it has helped to hinder useful and impartial- thinking journalism on the basis of little more than intellectual prejudice”, Britain’s paper of record , added.
The Times ‘ condemnation comes in the wake of Lord David Cameron, a former British prime minister, and current foreign minister, announcing last month that the Foreign Office would no longer provide funding for the , Global Disinformation Index because it does n’t “uphold our values” like freedom of speech.
As part of its efforts to combat alleged conspiracy theories surrounding elections or climate change, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office had previously allocated £2.6 million in British taxpayer funds to the GDI over three years starting in 2019. Germany’s Foreign Office and the European Union both support the GDI.
The GDI expanded its scope to include policing of the vaguely referred to as “adversarial narratives,” despite its initial claim that it was “deliberately false content, designed to deceive”. Prior to George Soros ‘ Open Society Foundations, World Economic Forum acolyte and GDI Founder Clare Melford explained that this made it possible for the Global Disinformation Index to focus on topics that were “harmful” or “divisive.”
The anti-disinformation industry’s” sinister irony” is illustrated by the creeping shift in its self-ascribed remit, which risks generating a new type of misinformation, The Times wrote on Monday.
BBC Declines to Respond to Allegations Its Own Disinformation Factcheckers Are … Spreading Disinformationhttps: //t. co/SQvyjbCYLg
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) June 17, 2023
The GDI drew the ire of British politicians after placing the centrist Unherd website on its” Dynamic Exclusion” blacklist of conservative media outlets, which includes Breitbart News, the Blaze, the Daily Wire, Judicial Watch, the Washington Times, RealClearPolitics, and the Washington Examiner, among others.
Advertising firms increasingly distribute their ads on websites through third-party internet firms, many of whom rely on the GDI or other supposedly neutral fact-checkers to determine whether a site is suitable to host their ads. Those who are placed on the blacklist of alleged purveyors of “disinformation” face advertising boycotts.
Following the inclusion of his website on the blacklist, Unherd editor-in-chief Freddie Sayers stated last month that” these companies act as invisible gatekeepers within the vast machinery of online advertising.”
Unherd claimed that the GDI had been informed of their decision to blacklist the website because it hosted so-called “gender critical” feminists, including author Julie Bindel and former professor Kathleen Stock, who both have challenged the transgender agenda from a left-wing feminist perspective.
Despite the fact that those beliefs are specifically protected by British law and held by the majority of the population, Sayers noted,” Apparently the GDI equates” disinformation” with “gender-critical” beliefs or maintaining that biological sex differences exist.
The website claimed that its advertising revenue had dropped to 2 % of what it once was after being placed on the Global Disinformation Index blacklist.
The mysterious” Global Disinformation Index” and how it censors political speech in Europe and the US are covered in a comprehensive video report. Please share widely, more people need to know. pic. twitter.com/vz2cz36q2v
— Freddie Sayers ( @freddiesayers ) April 17, 2024
In Britain, the GDI is also facing criticism. Given that the organization’s targeting of American news outlets violated its legal obligation to work only in countries other than the United States, National Endowment for Democracy ( NED), which is funded by the United States State Department, pulled its funding from it in February. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the chair of the GOP House conference and NED board member, reportedly played a key role in the funding cut.
According to Congresswoman Stefanik,” The State Department should not be providing funding woke organizations that seek to censor and demonetize conservative outlets.” House Republicans will assert their control over the State Department’s funding of these kinds of organizations.
The Global Disinformation Index  may have even swayed some elections, in addition to the chilling effect it has had on the news industry and the negative financial effects it has had on conservative media.
Paul Fitzpatrick, the president of the 1792 Exchange, told Breitbart News Daily host Alex Marlow last month that the GDI “was active in the months leading up to the midterm elections” in the United States.
” And so, we do n’t know how much information was blocked leading up to the midterm elections. Could that have affected some very close races’ outcomes? That’s very possible. So, GDI is, in essence, a tool to choke information”, Fitzpatrick said.
WEF: EU Chief Von Der Leyen Demands Censorship of’ Industrial Scale Disinformation’ at Davoshttps: //t. co/gOgXjTfVeq
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) January 17, 2024
