In a groundbreaking legal action, The Daily Wire and The Federalist, alongside the state of Texas, have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department. The litigation, initiated on Tuesday in the Eastern District of Texas, accuses the federal agency of misusing taxpayer money to fund technologies aimed at silencing media outlets with differing political views.
The heart of the controversy lies with the Global Engagement Center (GEC), originally established to combat foreign terrorist propaganda. The lawsuit, spearheaded by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, alleges that this platform has been repurposed to target American citizens and media under the guise of combating “disinformation.”
Described as one of the most egregious First Amendment violations in U.S. history, the suit names Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials. It seeks a court ruling to prevent the State Department from further engaging in or promoting technologies that suppress lawful American speech and press.
Initially named the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications in 2011 and rebranded in 2016, GEC’s mandate was to counter foreign threats. However, the lawsuit asserts that GEC has shifted its focus domestically, backing entities like NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which reportedly target conservative media outlets by cutting off their ad revenues.
Mark Chenoweth of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, representing the media outlets, asserts that indirect government censorship is as unconstitutional as direct attempts.
GDI’s “Dynamic Exclusion List” of high-risk disinformation sources, used by advertisers to avoid boycotts, has been a point of contention. The list reportedly targets prominent conservative media, but its full contents remain undisclosed. The State Department’s involvement in GDI’s funding and promotion is a focal point of the lawsuit.
NewsGuard, another organization allegedly funded by the State Department, has been criticized for its categorization of news outlets, including labeling The Federalist as “unreliable” and The Daily Wire as “credible with significant exceptions.”
In the broader context, the lawsuit challenges the State Department’s involvement in the domestic media landscape, arguing that it contravenes the department’s foreign-focused mandate. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton emphasized the lawsuit’s importance in protecting constitutional rights from overreach by the federal government.
The suit also claims that these actions by the State Department impede Texas’ enforcement of its anti-censorship laws. The Daily Wire, in a statement, underscored the lawsuit’s significance for preserving free press and constitutional rights, referencing their previous successful legal battle against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate.
As this legal challenge unfolds, it represents a critical juncture in the ongoing discourse around free speech, government overreach, and the role of media in modern America.