Posted on 11/26/2022 10:38:54 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Government efforts to squelch purported misinformation and disinformation on the most contested subjects in American politics don't stop with Cabinet-level agencies.
The National Science Foundation has awarded at least $39 million in grants and contracts in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 for projects that target misinformation or disinformation, frequently pertaining to COVID-19 and elections.
Two contracts went to anti-misinformation groups for journalists. Hacks/Hackers received $3.7 million with the potential for $2 million more for "expert-informed resources ... to address vaccine hesitancy and misinformation."
Meedan received a $3.2 million contract with the potential for $2.5 million more to develop "fact-checker" and "community collaboration tools" for "combating hate, abuse, and misinformation with minority led partnerships." It also received a $256,000 grant for "identifying and countering misinformation on closed messaging platforms (COVID-19)."
Both received $5 million grants in the new fiscal year from NSF's Convergence Accelerator, which "builds upon basic research and discovery to accelerate solutions toward societal impact."
Ten FY 2021 and 2022 grants directly reference the accelerator's Track F, also known as "Trust & Authenticity in Communication Systems." The largest grant recipients all have Track F awards, including: State University of New York ($4.3 million), George Washington University ($4 million), University of Wisconsin ($3.8 million) and University of Washington ($3.5 million).
GWU, a few blocks from the White House, even received $200,000 to "study how populist politicians distorted COVID-19 pandemic health communication" to increase distrust and make citizens "more vulnerable to misinformation generally." The research will probe "how best to counter these populist narratives" in the U.S., Brazil, Poland and Serbia.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
Democracy dies with Democrats.
Populism is democracy writ large.
That’s why they hate and vilify “populism.”
“they” can’t help it...its rapidly becoming Fed.gov vs the states
Bkmk
Wow! This is soooo Orwellian it is unbelievable. Of course, misinformation will need drugs to treat the mentally impaired who think for themselves.
And using our tax dollars to do it.
It’s a shame there aren’t conservative foundations
I’m going to try and get some $$$.
Who are you calling intelligent?
“Democracy” is obedience.
This is exactly what Eisenhower warned about:
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/eisenhower001.asp
Excerpt:
“Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields.
In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research.
Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity.
For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.
The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”
You mean they awarded $39m in contracts to push disinformation, in an attempt to gaslight citizens into believing a false narrative.
“Everything the Left touches, nearly without exception, they destroy.” — Dennis Prager. There are myriad current and historical examples of this profound truth.
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