DHS officials created a ‘disinformation group’ at Stanford University to help censor America’s speech on social media ahead of the 2020 election, bombshell emails reveal

The Department of Homeland Security worked with Stanford University and other colleges to create this a ‘disinformation group’ that censors speeches in the run-up to the elections Elections 2020, new emails reveal.

The Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) was formed in July 2020 and consisted of members from the Stanford Internet Observatory, the university from Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, Graphika, and the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, according to a new report from the House Judiciary Committee and obtained by the New York Post.

“(T)he federal government and universities have pressured social media companies to censor real information, jokes and political opinions,” the report on the partnership said.

Emails and internal communications obtained by the House Judiciary Committee show how the group went about flagging, censoring and removing online speech.

“I know the Council has made some broad policy efforts around the elections, but we have just established an Election Integrity Partnership at the request of DHS/CISA and are in weekly contact to debrief on disinfo,” it said Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research. Lab’s senior director Graham Brookie wrote in an email.

Stanford University campus shown. The Election Integrity Partnership was formed in July 2020 and included members of the Stanford Internet Observatory

An email from Graham Brookie, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, states that they created the EIP at the request of DHS/CISA

According to the report, the Partnership’s efforts targeted Republicans and conservatives by labeling the information they posted as “misinformation,” while leaving information posted by Democrats and liberals largely untouched.

They alleged that the partnership was used to “censor Americans engaging in core political speech ahead of the 2020 election.”

“The pseudoscience of disinformation is now – and has always been – nothing more than a political ploy that most often targets communities and individuals who hold views that contradict prevailing narratives,” the report said.

Emails in the report showed that Brian Scully, director of DHS’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), told members of the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office that he had flagged parody accounts on Twitter .

Other emails show that Scully communicated with Facebook to remove a post about the election that was deemed misinformation.

The committee said the group targeted candidates such as President Donald Trump and Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, entities such as Newsmax and the Babylon Bee, and conservative commentators such as Sean Hannity, Mollie Hemingway and Charlie Kirk.

Emails in the report showed that Brian Scully, director of Foreign Influence Operations and Disinformation, told members of the Office of the Colorado Secretary of State that he had flagged parody accounts on Twitter.

Other emails in the report show that Scully communicated with Facebook to remove a post about the election that was deemed misinformation

In September, federal appeals found that the Biden administration “likely violated the First Amendment” by pressuring social media companies to remove posts that the White House deemed false or misleading.

In that case, known as Missouri v. Biden, Scully testified that switchboarding, the practice of flagging information, was “CISA’s role in forwarding messaging received from election officials … to social media platforms,” ​​the report said.

The Judiciary Committee found emails showing months of discussions between CIS and social media companies, including Facebook and Twitter, through a proposed disinformation portal.

CISA emails included a disclaimer stating that “neither has nor has the ability to delete what information is made available on social media platforms.”

The report came from the House Judiciary Committee led by Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)

The report said the efforts targeted Republicans and conservatives, including then-presidential candidate Donald Trump

The report also said: ‘There were a number of university students involved in the EIP, with at least four of the students employed by CISA during the operation of EIP, using their government email accounts to communicate with CISA officials and other involved ‘external stakeholders’. with the EIP.’

CISA Director Brandon Wales said Fox News digital the agency “does not and has never censored speech.”

“Every day, the men and women of CISA carry out the agency’s mission to reduce risks to America’s critical infrastructure in a way that protects America’s freedom of speech, civil rights, civil liberties and privacy.”

“In response to concerns from election officials from all parties about foreign influence operations and disinformation that could impact the security of election infrastructure, CISA is mitigating the risk of disinformation by sharing election literacy and security information with the public and by supporting trusted voices to reinforce. from election officials across the country,” Wales said.