Biden Admin Hit With Big Loss In Media Censorship Case

A lawsuit filed jointly by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, The Daily Wire, and The Federalist against the Biden administration’s State Department in December 2023 is moving ahead after a federal judge refused to dismiss the case, Newsmax reported Monday.

The lawsuit centers on alleged funding of different technologies that work to blacklist conservative voices and media outlets online. The language of the suit alleges that the State Department uses its Global Engagement Center to finance the development and promotion of left-wing media monitoring organizations, including such brands as NewsGuard and the British-based extremely biased monitoring site Global Disinformation Index, in “one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press in the history of the nation,” Newsmax wrote.

A Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle from Tyler, Texas, stated that the plaintiffs provided more than enough information to move forward with their case against the State Department. Kernodle dismissed a request by the Biden administration to dismiss the suit.

Analysis By Newsmax

“In his ruling, Kernodle cited allegations that the State Department’s actions essentially encouraged social media companies to “deplatform” the Daily Wire and The Federalist in violation of a Texas state law, which prohibits censoring speech based on viewpoint,” Newsmax wrote in their analysis. “NewsGuard, GDI, and other “disinformation” watchdog groups have a long history of systematically targeting conservative media outlets under the guise of combating misinformation.”

Kernodle quoted the First Amendment in the opening of this opinion, noting that multiple other outlets may be targeted by the State Department’s “censorship scheme threatens the freedom of the press of any American outlet that reports disfavored views, including Newsmax.” (LEARN MORE: 55% Know Biden’s Policies Will Make Economy Worse)

Paxton Responds

“The Biden administration made a reprehensible attempt to censor the American press with funding intended to monitor foreign propaganda, aiming to repress viewpoints the federal government disagreed with,” Paxton said in a statement following the ruling. “Abusing taxpayer money, Biden repurposed a government agency into a censorship apparatus. It must stop, and I am proud to lead the nation’s fight to save the First Amendment.” (LEARN MORE: Interview Suggests New Evidence On Voter Machine Issues In 2020)

Freedom From Government Censorship

Did you know that you, your family, and friends can send letters directly to your elected officials today? We can tell your leaders what you want from their time in office, and what you expect from our federal government. Letter-writing campaigns, or even just a single letter, can be enough to sway policy and prompt investigations.

You can tell your officials how important Protections from Media Censorship By Government are to you today. Sign up for www.millionvoices.org today (text MV to 80550) and share this article with your friends and family so they can stay informed and become citizen lobbyists in the pursuit of faith and freedom across our great nation.