Florida will no longer do business with censorship groups like NewsGuard following a proclamation by state CFO Jimmy Patronis.
He issued a directive to the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) prohibiting any contracts with “censorship and blacklisting” groups such as NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. The group and others like it “issue 'credibility ratings' to news sources to diminish information I don't like,” Patronis wrote in a post on X announcing the directive.
“This is wrong!” he declared.
Florida rejects censorship! I blocked today @FLDFS of working with censorship and blacklisting groups like NewsGuard. These groups issue “credibility ratings” to news sources to diminish information they don't like. This is wrong!
Read more➡️: https://t.co/i2x7RPaZMM pic.twitter.com/OGKPqFmIqa
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) July 31, 2024
A press release explained that “adverse ratings can diminish a legitimate news source's reputation and advertising revenue, often intentionally, and are known to be applied based on subjective factors such as political bias, not factual inaccuracies. “
The directive prohibits the DFS from using “censorship media monitoring services when making ad buys or marketing placements.”
“This directive is intended to hold censor and blacklist groups accountable. We will be launching media campaigns this year to protect the public from insurance fraud and educate Floridians about the services DFS provides, and we need the maximum performance of these dollars. We don't need so-called media watchdogs to be middlemen and burn cash unnecessarily when we're trying to get the best return on our investments,” Patronis said in a statement.
“No taxpayer money from my agency will fund censorship on my watch, and no business in Florida should suffer simply because they express views these groups don't like,” he added. “These news and information rating activities appear to be part of a larger effort to create ESG-like social credit scores that result in debunking and de-platforming legitimate private entities.”
Groups like Newsguard appear to be part of a larger effort to create social credit scores, similar to ESG, that hurt companies. This is wrong, and I will use my authority to protect businesses and consumers against these abusive tactics. More ➡️: https://t.co/i2x7RPaZMM pic.twitter.com/BOCcMq4e9P
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) August 1, 2024
“This is wrong, and I will use my authority as CFO to protect businesses and consumers against these abusive tactics,” Patronis promised.
The proclamation states that the CFO “recognizes that First Amendment protections, such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press, are fundamental American rights critical to democracy and must be protected against infringement illegitimate”.
How BizPac Review has reported, NewsGuard employs a group of “trained journalists” to provide “trust scores” to news sites like BPR. A red check from NewsGuard could mean the site faces de-platforming and the loss of critical ad revenue. According to their web sitethe organization has partnered with both the US Department of Defense and the US State Department.
“Organizations such as NewsGuard Technologies, Inc., the Global Disinformation Index, Graphika Technologies, Inc. and other similar organizations are attaching largely subjective 'credibility rating' and 'misinformation' labels to news sources,” he says the Florida Proclamation.
Patronis explained that “blacklisting news sources means placing a news source on a list, or creating rating and rating systems, indicating that a news source is not considered credible or reliable, and that these activities of censorship and blacklisting also occur under the declared function of “facts”.'”
A $750,000 contract between NewsGuard and the US Department of Defense was cited in a federal lawsuit that noted the connection, as the group provided “adverse credibility ratings for news sources that accurately reported on the Biden administration agency.”
“NewsGuard was investigated by the U.S. House Oversight Committee over its dealings with federal agencies and its apparent failure to maintain an avowedly nonpartisan approach in light of “highly partisan social media activities by part of the NewsGuard employees,” the proclamation states.
The Patronis directive noted that “All divisions of the Department of Financial Services that use promotional contracts for marketing and/or public education campaigns may not enter into or renew a contract or agreement with an entity for the purpose of developing, providing or use news. censorship of sources or blacklisting services”.
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