According to a report by the House Judiciary Committee published on Tuesday, the Biden administration contemplated covering up its efforts to fund research to suppress online “misinformation.”
Biden officials considered attempting concealment following a February 19, 2023 report from the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) that the National Science Foundation (NSF) was "pouring millions into research and the development of tools to combat online mis- and disinformation." The report included videos of the agency's efforts.
NSF program manager Michael Pozmantier said in an email he was “going to see about pulling them [the videos] down or locking the page ASAP” the following day, according to a screenshot in the report.
Here's more:
The NSF had contributed $38.8 million on research initiatives to counter so-called “misinformation” since Biden’s inauguration by November 2022, according to a report by the Foundation For Freedom Online (FFO), the DCNF reported.
However, the NSF awarded additional grants to combat mis- and disinformation following FFO’s report, most of which fall under the “Convergence Accelerator Track F: Trust & Authenticity in Communication Systems” or “Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC),” the DCNF found.
According to the House Judiciary report, "The purpose of these taxpayer-funded projects is to develop artificial intelligence (AI)- powered censorship and propaganda tools that can be used by governments and Big Tech to shape public opinion by restricting certain viewpoints or promoting others."
Here are a few examples of those taxpayer-funded projects.
The NSF in December 2022 awarded the University of Houston a $50,000 grant for establishing a “social media misinformation interactive dashboard” that would “forecast trends and analysis to help address the misinformation endemic in America,” according to the grant abstract.
[T]he NSF in July 2019 awarded Syracuse University a $495,478 grant to study the “online dynamics of misinformation,” focusing on how “misinformation becomes woven into narratives online, how technology influences this process, and how design might be used to alter it.”
The NSF awarded $750,000 to MIT-led researchers and it created propaganda tools to educate these demographics because of their vulnerability to “misinformation campaigns,” according to the House Judiciary Committee report.
According to the Judiciary Committee report, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) researchers told the NSF: "Broad swaths of the public cannot effectively sort truth from fiction online. ” The researchers highlighted “rural and indigenous communities,” “military veterans, older adults, military families” and “older adults” as being the most vulnerable.
As I've written previously, I'm amused when I read "They think you're stupid" in an article written by a conservative for conservatives about the latest crock of crap that some Democrat politician is trying to sell to the public. On the contrary, they know you're not stupid.
Moreover, they don't give a damn, one way or the other. What they very much give a damn about is a majority of low-information, rank-and-file Democrats who buy everything they say — and dutifully line up at the polls during every election to pull the "D" lever, no questions asked.
As to be expected, a National Science Foundation spokesperson denied all charges of attempting to conceal or mislead.
NSF did not at any point attempt to conceal or mislead the public, Congress, or the media about its Track F Program or any of its other investments. The ‘media strategy’ referenced in the committee’s report was done counter to the official NSF Media Policy and without the input or knowledge of NSF Leadership and is not being used by NSF.
NSF continues to prioritize outreach and transparency to the entire American public so they can see firsthand how that investment has improved their everyday lives … NSF has been working with the House Judiciary Committee to address their concerns and will continue to do so on the requests outlined in this report.
Uh-huh. And DHS head Alejandro Mayorkas continues his damnedest to try to close the southern border.
A Word About 'Misinformation'
As is the case with "fair share" and taxation, who determines what constitutes misinformation?
Misinformation to some people might be facts to others. All we need to do is look back at the so-called COVID-19 "pandemic" for ample proof. We can include so-called "vaccinations" and masks in our look-back, and sum up the whole thing this way: The Democrats' definition of misinformation consists of facts, data, history, logic, or common sense that refutes their narratives.
Anthony Fauci was unavailable for comment.
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The Democrats Aren't Just Out Here to Censor Us, They're Looking to Censor You
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