Topline: The federal government has recently spent $267 million on grants meant to suppress supposed “misinformation,” according to a new report from OpenTheBooks.com.
Of course, federal bureaucrats themselves get to decide what is and isn’t misinformation.
Key facts: Misinformation spending soared in 2021 as the government worked with social media companies to restrict the views of those questioning federal Covid-19 policies online. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since admitted it was “wrong” to censor varying opinions on vaccines, mask-wearing and social distancing.
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government later accused the National Science Foundation of creating “AI-powered censorship and propaganda tools” at a cost of $13 million.
Another $200,000 was awarded to George Washington University to study how populist leaders spread misinformation. Researchers used government funds to analyze politicians who allegedly divided society during the pandemic, focusing on Donald Trump and three other world leaders.
In total, $127 million of the misinformation grants were related to Covid-19.
Other spending included $300,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services to create Innov8AI, which can “capture medical misinformation in social media for targeted interdiction using an advanced AI solution set.”
Trump’s administration spent $7 million on combating misinformation during his first term.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Background: Suppressing speech of any kind brings up potential First Amendment issues, and it runs the risk of erasing narratives that are actually true.
In October, reports emerged that Federal Emergency Management Agency workers were intentionally withholding financial aid from hurricane victims in Florida that had “Trump for President” signs on their lawns. Many news networks gave the story a “misinformation” label — until it turned out to be true and a Congressional investigation was launched.
Even the prediction that President Joe Biden would drop out of the presidential race was deemed a “conspiracy theory” from the “GOP fantasy crowd” by Politico in February. Months later, Biden stepped down from the ticket.
Summary: Americans can make up their own minds, they don’t need the government to do that for them. The best solution for bad speech isn’t censorship, it’s more speech.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
