A new report reveals the Biden-Harris government has funneled billions of dollars to an international group that has demanded the censorship of conservative voices on social media. According to the evidence released by the Foundation for Freedom Online, the U.S. federal government has underwritten—using taxpayer dollars—the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), which has actively pushed for the censorship of right-leaning media since 2019.
GARM was created as an initiative of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), which controls roughly 90 percent of advertiser spending worldwide. Four advertising agencies—IPG, Omnicom, WPP, and the Publicis Groupe—are responsible for GARM’s push for censorship. It is also through these agencies that GARM has been funneled U.S. taxpayer dollars.
IPG holds over $1.5 billion in government contracts with the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DOD). Omnicom holds roughly $5 billion in contracts with the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Meanwhile, WPP has earned $455 million from work done with the U.S. Navy. Additionally, Publicis Groupe has a $394.2 million contract with HHS.
GARM’S CENSORSHIP CAMPAIGN.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee produced a report on Thursday detailing how GARM harnessed its control over Internet advertising revenue to pressure social media platforms—like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook—to censor dissident speech and voices on the political right. In the case of X, GARM members claim they were able to severely impact advertiser money that the company’s earnings came in 80 percent below projections.
Another GARM target has been Spotify. The group pressured the podcast and music platform to drop its biggest subscriber draw, Joe Rogan, over various comments the entertainer has made, especially criticism of government policies regarding COVID-19. GARM targeted Spotify advertisers like Coca-Cola, warning the company that Rogan and his comments were “a major area of concern.”
In addition to targeting social media platforms, GARM has also targeted right-leaning media directly. The group has tried to drive advertisers away from news websites like Breitbart and The Daily Wire. This campaign appears to have been coordinated with the global censorship group NewsGuard.
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