(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) In its efforts to silence citizens, the U.S. State Department funded a U.K.-based think tank that collaborates with online platforms to censor conservatives by saying that they are spreading so-called “mis- and disinformation.”
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue is a British nongovernmental organization that presents itself as a research group that works with several online platforms to fight what they deem to be “extremism, hate and disinformation,” according to the Daily Caller. In reality, the organization’s goal is to censor those who don’t bow down at the altar of woke.
In Sept. 2021, the State Department awarded ISD a grant to “advance the development of promising and innovative technologies against disinformation and propaganda” in Europe and the U.K.
The State Department confirmed that its Global Engagement Center funded ISD through a grant to Park Advisors to study the alleged “Russian disinformation tactics” against Wikipedia, but claimed not to play any role in content moderation decisions on social media platforms.
ISD also partnered with the State Department to create the Strong Cities Network, a United Nations-affiliated initiative that seeks to combat “hate, polarization and extremism” abroad. As part of this arrangement, the State Department solicited several grants, naming ISD as a sub-awardee.
Pierre Omidyar’s Omidyar Group, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and several European government agencies also fund the organization.
A significant portion of ISD’s work focuses on attacking conservatives, branding their discourse as “hateful” and/or disinformation.
ISD considers the statement of fact that abortion is a murder of an unborn baby as misinformation. According to a 2022 ISD report, the organization also claims that people who don’t accept “climate change” hysteria are spreading “disinformation.”
The organization also showed its true colors when it characterized Libs of TikTok as a “prolific spreader of hate” and classified conservative journalist Scott Morefield as someone who spreads “disinformation” and amplifies “hateful right-wing talking points.”
ISD also thinks that “misgendering” is a real thing and that everyone who spreads the so-called “anti-trans hatred” should be censored by social media platforms.
The leftist organization also injected itself into different tyrannical Big Tech companies. ISD is a member of Spotify’s Safety Advisory Council, a part of YouTube’s “Trusted Flagger program” and a partner with Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.
“The State Department’s partnership with the ISD is problematic at best and unconstitutional at worst,” Mike Davis, president of the Internet Accountability Project said.
“Taxpayer dollars essentially funding the censorship of conservatives under the guise of ‘misinformation’ shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s followed the Biden administration’s assault on the marketplace of ideas.”
