Liberal-Funded International Fact-Checking Network Decries YouTube’s ‘Insufficient’ Censorship

An international network of so-called “fact-checking” organizations funded by massive liberal organizations called on YouTube to censor more content the network disagrees with.

The leftist International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), a project of the Poynter Institute, published an open letter whining that YouTube “is allowing its platform to be weaponized by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others, and to organize and fundraise themselves.” In the IFCN’s draconian view, “Current measures are proving insufficient.” IFCN exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to decry how “destructive disinformation and misinformation can be for social harmony, democracy, and public health; too many lives and livelihoods have been ruined, and far too many people have lost loved ones to disinformation.” Poynter is the same organization that tried to blacklist 29 conservative outlets in 2019 as “UnNews.” 

MRC Free Speech America identified at least 11 major left-wing organizations that fund Poynter Institute to the tune of at least $15,755,197 between 2007 and 2020, according to Foundation Directory Online data. Some of these groups are connected to left-wing billionaires such as George Soros (Bill Gates co-founder), Craig Newmark creator Craig Newmark, Pierre Omidyar founder eBay.

The liberal John S. and James L. Knight Foundation — notorious for funding overtly left-wing journalism operations — gave the lion’s share of the funding to Poynter: $7,205,200 at least. Nikole Hannah-Jones — the leftist behind the revisionist 1619 Project — serves as Knight’s Chair in Race and Journalism. The Ford Foundation, which reportedly “funded organizations closely associated with violent [left-wing] activists,” gave $2,600,000 to Poynter. 

IFCN was even awarded $1 million by Facebook’s censorship platform in 2020. It announced a partnership agreement with third-party fact-checkers who were also members of IFCN. Soros’ Open Society Foundations records suggest that some of his contributions between 2017 and 2019 went specifically to funding Poynter’s IFCN. In recent years, IFCN was also supported by the Omidyar Network.

But IFCN, behaving like an Orwellian Ministry of Truth, pontificated in its letter that YouTube should “make sure it does not actively promote disinformation to its users or recommend content coming from unreliable channels.” So, a liberal organization financed by left-wing billionaires is trying to tell readers what sources are reliable and which ones aren’t. 

The IFCN made four suggestions to YouTube for ways it could improve on its already bloated censorship system:

1. YouTube should commit “to meaningful transparency about disinformation on the platform. YouTube should support independent research about the origins of the different misinformation campaigns, their reach and impact, and the most effective ways to debunk false information.”
2. “YouTube’s focus should be on providing context and offering debunks, clearly superimposed on videos or as additional video content.”
3. YouTube should be “Repetitive offenders who create content which is continuously flagged as misinformation and disinformation should be prosecuted.” [Emphasis added.]
4. YouTube must make their censorship campaigns global. “Extend current and future efforts against disinformation and misinformation in languages different from English.”

George Orwell slumbers violently in the grave.

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