America First Legal Exposes Censorship Scheme by USAID
America First Legal Exposes Government Censorship Scheme
America First Legal (AFL) has released documents exposing a vast government-backed censorship operation involving the U.S. Department of State's Global Engagement Center (GEC), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the British Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Office (FCDO). The documents reveal a coordinated effort to silence Americans under the guise of "misinformation," "disinformation," and "malinformation," with the GEC working with internet censorship enforcers like NewsGuard and Poynter. The scheme allegedly involved sharing information with foreign governments and suppressing dissenting voices, highlighting a threat to free speech and free expression.
AFL plans to continue fighting to expose government censorship and defend the First Amendment.
What is the purpose of the Global Engagement Center? The Global Engagement Center (GEC) was designed to "combat foreign disinformation abroad." However, the documents obtained by America First Legal reveal that the GEC was actually engaged in state-sponsored propaganda, using willing participants from private media organizations, and working to manipulate public discourse and suppress free speech.
A global false-flag operation of international "fact-checkers" that claim to be independent but are actually a tightly woven network funded by Poynter and the GEC.
USAID's "Disinformation Primer" explicitly praised private sector censorship strategies and recommended further censorship tactics. This suggests that USAID was advocating for and promoting censorship efforts, rather than simply combating disinformation.
On March 20, 2025, America First Legal (AFL) released documents obtained through litigation against the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), revealing a coordinated censorship effort involving the GEC, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Office (FCDO), and private media organizations. The documents expose a government-backed operation aimed at silencing American voices under the pretext of combating "misinformation," "disinformation," and "malinformation." The GEC, which was shut down in December 2024, collaborated with USAID and the UK government to suppress speech, often using AI tools like the "Misinformation Fingerprints" from firms such as Poynter and NewsGuard to identify and flag content. This effort included targeting COVID-19-related narratives and involved coordination with private entities like Park Advisors, which received over $6 million from the GEC to fund groups such as NewsGuard, the Atlantic Council, and the Global Disinformation Index. AFL argues this scheme violated First Amendment rights and vows to continue exposing such censorship activities.
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