Google-Funded Orgs Declare ‘Disinformation’ a ‘Threat to Free Speech’

A coalition of “human rights” organizations, many of them funded by Google, have written an open letter to President Joe Biden urging the creation of a “Disinformation Defense and Free Expression Task Force.”

Congratulating Biden on his “impressive first hundred days” as President, the “coalition of human rights, free speech, democracy, and technology organizations” recommends the creation of a federal interagency task force to contain what the organizations describe as the “clear and present threat” of disinformation.

In the letter, published by Axios, the organizations call disinformation a threat to “democracy,” and blame it for the Capitol riot.

As we think about the next four years, we are keenly aware of the challenge the rampant spread of disinformation poses to our nation. The prevalence of deceptions, propaganda, and conspiracy theories related to the 2020 election, COVID-19, and the recent Capitol insurrection illustrates the clear and present threat that disinformation poses to our democracy and national security. However, we are equally mindful that solutions adopted in moments of crisis can themselves pose significant dangers to our fundamental freedoms. As Justice Brandeis once wrote, “fear breeds repression [and] courage is the secret to liberty.”

The organizations that signed the letter are as follows:

PEN America, Access Now, Andre Banks (Founder and CEO A/B Partners, Co-Founder Win Black), Ashley Bryant (Principal, A/B Partners, Co-Founder Win Black), Center for American Progress, Center for Democracy & Technology, Common Cause, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, Katy Byron (MediaWise Editor & Program Manager, The Poynter Institute), Simply Secure, Voto Latino.

Many of these organizations receive or have received financial support from Google, one of the tech companies that has used the “disinformation” panic to pick winners and losers in the media.

Google’s financial disclosures reveal that it funds PEN America, the Center for American Progress, and the Center for Democracy and Technology among others.