NewsGuard, a proprietary entity, which claims to be the team of “expert journalists” score publishers on a scale of 0-100 based on whether they have transparent finances or publish many errors, among other criteria has recently termed a website named ‘VT Foreign Policy’ as being “linked to Russian intelligence”.
NewsGuard Technologies was founded in 2018 by Steven Brill and L. Gordon Crovitz, who serve as co-CEOs. Crovitz was a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Although this proprietary company raised US$6 million from the Knight Foundation, Publicis and former Reuters executive Tom Glocer, according to Russian news agency Sputnik, it previously received funding from the US State Department and Pentagon,
There is no specific information on individuals or organizations who are providing fund to Knight Foundations – one of the key funders of NewsGuard.
In June this year, House Republicans launched an investigation into NewsGuard, citing concerns about “protected First Amendment speech” and “censorship campaigns”.
House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said, “A primary concern for the Committee is the Department of Defense [Pentagon] contract NewsGuard was awarded in 2021, which raises questions about the involvement of federal agencies in potential censorship campaigns”.
Congressman James Comer further stated, “Our inquiry seeks documents on NewsGuard’s business relationships with government entities, its adherence to its own policies intended to guard against appearances of bias, how it tries to avoid and manage potential conflicts of interest arising from its investors and other influences, and actions that may have the impact of delegitimizing factually accurate information. One concerned journalist expressed fear that NewsGuard’s activities are an extension of federal efforts – since struck down by courts – to coerce social media companies and to ‘destroy the financial survival of disfavored outlets…’ The Committee seeks to make an independent determination about whether NewsGuard’s intervention on protected speech has been in any way sponsored by a federal, state, local, or foreign government”.
Gordon Crovitz, admitting connections between NewsGuard and Pentagon told Axios, “Our work for the Pentagon has been solely related to hostile disinformation efforts by Russian, Chinese and Iranian government-linked operations targeting Americans and our allies”.
VT Foreign Policy, which is branded by NewsGuard as being linked to Russian intelligence is managed by Chief Justin Time and claims to be “100% USA-owned and operated”, does not have any contact address on its website. It maintains anti-Israel, anti-Semite editorial policy while it is clearly biased towards Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It also justifies October 7 [2023] Hamas pogrom in Israel and regularly attempts to demonize Israel and Jews. It also nakedly upholds pro-Nazi editorial policy.
