This is part of a Washington Examiner series on self-styled "disinformation" tracking groups that are blacklisting and trying to defund conservative media outlets. Here is where you can read other stories in the series.
EXCLUSIVE — Republican and Democratic staffers for two key congressional committees received a classified briefing from the State Department in connection to the agency bankrolling a purported "disinformation" tracking group that is blacklisting conservative media outlets.
The Global Engagement Center, an interagency organization housed under the State Department, granted $100,000 in 2021 to the Global Disinformation Index and is silent on whether it will commit to no longer providing the group taxpayer dollars. On Wednesday, the center gave a classified briefing to staffers for both the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, noting that its grant was not for U.S. matters, according to two congressional sources familiar with the matter.
DISINFORMATION INC: STATE DEPARTMENT SILENT ON IF IT WILL CUT TIES WITH CONSERVATIVE BLACKLIST GROUP
“It’s alarming that the State Department passed U.S. taxpayer dollars to a foreign organization that attempted to censor conservative American news outlets," Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chairman of the Oversight Committee, told the Washington Examiner. "The State Department’s classified briefing provided to committee staff indicates that there may need to be stronger mechanisms in place to prevent domestic censorship."
"We must ensure that efforts to counter foreign state and terrorist propaganda do not, intentionally or otherwise, spill into use on domestic speech," he added. "We look forward to receiving more documents from the State Department about its activities to inform our oversight of this matter."
The center's grant to GDI, which was first provided to an investment group called Park Advisors, was for a government-sponsored project called the U.S-Paris Tech Challenge. The challenge sought "to advance the development of promising and innovative technologies against disinformation and propaganda," records show.
GDI, a British group with two affiliated U.S. nonprofit groups, has been feeding conservative website blacklists to advertising companies. It's flagged the Washington Examiner as a "disinformation" peddler and claimed the 10 "riskiest" outlets, which all skew to the right, are the Federalist, the American Conservative, One America News, the Blaze, the Daily Wire, RealClearPolitics, Reason, the New York Post, and the American Spectator.
There were roughly seven State Department officials at the classified briefing, according to one congressional source. The briefing came roughly two weeks after the National Endowment for Democracy briefed committees on its funding to GDI, which has totaled over $545,000 between 2020 and 2021.
The NED, unlike the center, said afterward it will no longer provide grants to GDI to "avoid the perception" that it's "engaged in any work domestically, directly, or indirectly" since it has "strict policies and practices in place so that NED and the work we fund remains internationally focused."
During the latest classified briefing to staffers, Republicans told the center that it's a "contradiction" for the State Department to be focused on fighting "disinformation" overseas while also supporting the Global Disinformation Index. Democrats, on the other hand, praised the center, but did ask for clarification on its vetting process for grantees, according to a congressional source.
The center said that it allegedly did not ask for a "demo" of GDI's software before awarding it taxpayer dollars, according to the source. It also noted that it does not have work planned with GDI moving forward, but fell short of a commitment to no longer supporting it, said the source.
"The Global Engagement Center’s award to the Global Disinformation Index was closed on 15 March 2022," a State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. "No further work is planned."
Still, Republican staffers pressed the State Department, noting that GOP members are concerned about the grant. The center rebutted that money given to GDI was earmarked for it to focus on thwarting alleged disinformation in foreign countries, said a congressional source.
Since the center's grant was first provided to Park Advisors, it claimed the government was unable to monitor the effectiveness of how the cash was used, according to a source. The center allegedly mentioned that it has a "Silicon Valley" representative it works with, but noted there is no plan to open a government office in that location.
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Critical information about the State Department's response to scrutiny over its grants to GDI comes amid Republicans demanding documents and communications with regard to the funding. On Feb. 23, Comer sent a letter to the State Department, raising concerns over "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 combating 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," read the letter, which was first reported on by the Washington Examiner.