Comer Probes State Department’s Use of Taxpayer Dollars to Fund Censorship Campaigns

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today is pressing Secretary of State Antony Blinken about reports that U.S. taxpayer dollars administered by the Department of State were used to suppress lawful speech and defund conservative news outlets under the guise of combatting disinformation. Chairman Comer is requesting documents and a staff-level briefing on the State Department’s use of taxpayer dollars to fund censorship campaigns.

“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating reports that federal funds administered by the Department of State were used to suppress lawful speech and defund disfavored news outlets under the guise of combatting disinformation. The Committee is disturbed by recent reporting that taxpayer money ended up in the hands of a foreign organization running an advertising blacklist of organizations accused of hosting disinformation on their websites, including several conservative-leaning news organizations. The Committee seeks documents and a staff-level briefing to understand the scope of the Department’s use of federal funds for a taxpayer-funded censorship campaign,” wrote Chairman Comer.

According to the Washington Examiner, the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) received $330,000 in federal funds administered by the State Department. This British organization offers “risk ratings” to major ad companies to advise them on what websites and news outlets to avoid. Some of the media outlets GDI identified as the “riskiest” include Newsmax, The New York Post, RealClearPolitics, and The Federalist. The purpose of these risk ratings is to pressure advertisers into pulling their ads from these websites. 

“We continue to be concerned by efforts across the federal government to censor the lawful speech of Americans and discredit legitimate criticism as mis-, dis-, or mal- information, whether through the creation of a ‘Disinformation Governance Board,’ or labeling dissenting opinions as threats to critical infrastructure. The federal government should not be censoring free speech nor policing what news outlets Americans choose to consume. And taxpayer funds should never be given to third parties with the intent that they be used to censor lawful speech or abridge the freedom of the press,” continued Chairman Comer.

The letter to Secretary Blinken can be found here.