Last week, "60 Minutes" introduced us to Kate Starbird, a university professor who worked as a "fact-checker" to flag "misinformation" on the internet for censorship. It just so happens that most of the information flagged was right-leaning and from conservative news outlets or social media accounts.
Missouri v. Biden exposed this.
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) March 25, 2024
“Misinformation Researchers” are part of the Vast Censorship Enterprise.
No tax dollars to these wannabe authoritarians. pic.twitter.com/bnevXE8YvP
Now, the House Judiciary Committee – which has jurisdiction over the House Weaponization Committee – has released the transcript of a voluntary closed-door interview with Starbird last summer, exposing the government's violations of the First Amendment by using Big Tech as a surrogate. It was first reported by the Washington Examiner.
NEW: DHS-tied ‘misinformation’ researcher personally advised Big Tech on content moderation
— Gabe Kaminsky (@gekaminsky) April 2, 2024
In @dcexaminer https://t.co/q6YxMKkmps
"Chairman Jordan has requested this interview as part of the committee's investigation of how and the extent to which the executive branch has coerced and colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor speech," the transcript states.
Starbird insists she didn't advise Big Tech companies or the government about what to censor or take down, but simply gave guidance on what is classified as misinformation or rumor.
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"I teach experimental methods to master's students. I've taught classes, a couple special topics classes on the methods of analyzing social media data and on online rumors and misinformation. rumor means sort of information that's not verified, that's traveling through informal channels. And rumors can turn out to be true. Rumors can turn out to be false," Starbird explained about her process. "So rumor is just sort of, like, uncertain information. They often occur during crisis times. And my original research at the University of Colorado was on the use of social media during crisis events. So rumors are common during crisis events. Misinformation is information that's false. So a false rumor, you could categorize that as misinformation. And misinformation is not intentionally false. And then disinformation is a variation of misinformation that's intentional, so someone is intentionally spreading false or misleading information for some sort of objective."
America First Legal has issued a lawsuit against Starbird and others, saying they violated the civil rights of Americans.
Did you know?
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) November 20, 2023
We filed a class-action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to violate Americans’ civil rights through a vast censorship regime.
Defendants include:
🚨Atlantic Council
🚨Aspen Institute
🚨Stanford University
🚨Alex Stamos
🚨Kate Starbirdhttps://t.co/zMNAZ5aqN7 pic.twitter.com/nz0JXevFpO
Editor's Note: The evidence is clear – Big Government colludes with Big Tech to censor and shut down conservative reporting that cuts through their narratives and lies. Now more than ever, Townhall needs your support to fight for the truth and expose this dangerous alliance.
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