USAID provides $6 million to over 2 accredited journalists and funds them to suppress conservative media. TNI is established to censor information and suppress speech under the pretext of combating false information. It is discovered that Japan's NHK was also involved.

The following is from X

[Posted by Kamiyu Takayasu (Mizuno Masa)]

【重要】USAID provides $6 million to more than 2 accredited journalistsAt the same time,To silence conservative and independent mediaIn March 2020, Big Tech and legacy media launched a partnership called the Trusted News Initiative (TNI) to censor freedom of speech.Working together to ensure disinformation myths are stopped " and agreed.

Censorship of information and suppression of speech under the pretext of combating false informationHe was doing so.

そ し て,The TNI also includes Japan's NHK.His name was listed.

According to the BBC:

What is TNI?

The Trusted News Initiative is It is a unique global partnership that brings together organizations across the media and technology sectors to combat harmful disinformation in real time. The partnership focuses on moments of potential danger that could threaten lives or the integrity of our democracy, particularly during elections.

The partners will alert each other to high-risk misinformation and enable platforms to quickly review content,Publishers should ensure that dangerous misinformation is not unwittingly shared.

Improving understanding of how to combat and report harmful disinformation is at the core of TNI. Regular forums allow partners to share insights and editorial and technical best practices. This learning is made public through an annual conference featuring speakers from across partner organizations.

The disinformation landscape is constantly changing, and TNI partners are exploring new engineering approaches to tackle the problem, including supporting efforts like Project Origin and C2PA to maintain trust in news from trusted providers.

I think it's really important that we work with other partners, like the Trusted News Initiative. This whole issue can be pretty daunting when you look at the scale of change that's happening. This is a time when we need a coalition of the willing, working with partners so we can build the scale and standards and systems to fight disinformation. — Tim Davie, director general of the BBC

TNI has 23 members and recently expanded to include media organizations in the Asia-Pacific region. We celebrated this expansion by hosting the 2023 Trust in News Conference in Delhi, where members, old and new, reflected on the challenges in their regions.

Who is involved?

AP, AFP, BBC, CBC/Radio-Canada, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Financial Times, Information Futures Lab, Google/YouTube, The Hindu, The Nation Media Group, Meta, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Twitter, The Washington Post, Kompas (Indonesia), Dawn (Pakistan), Indian Express, NDTV (India), ABC (Australia), SBS (Australia),NHK (Japan)[See source for full text...]

According to Lake Shore Public Radio

The Trump administration has placed most of the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave.The decision to freeze most of the agency's budget could have devastating effects around the world. Trump adviser Elon Musk has alleged, without providing evidence, that the agency is corrupt and "criminal." Until recently, the United States was the world's largest foreign aid donor. [Read the full story at the source...]

→ United States Agency for International Development= United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

引用元　https://www.bbc.co.uk/beyondfakenews/trusted-news-initiative/about-us/
https://www.nhk.or.jp/info/otherpress/pdf/2022/20221115.pdf

Everyone's comments

• >Japan's NHK was also listed in this TNI.
• Are journalists now just information brokers? As Elon always says, "You are the medium" in this day and age. Isn't it true that journalists are professionals who can improve their works to be true?
• I hope that NHK will no longer collect reception fees from the Japanese people. From now on, they will have to survive by getting money from USAID and the Davos Conference.
• What? USAID money was also flowing to NHK, which is a public broadcaster that collects high reception fees from the public. Not only Fuji TV but NHK itself must be dismantled.
• Is this the reason why NHK was so happy to report on the Japanese government's crackdown on social media?

Editor B’s opinion

It has been revealed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has spent $6 million on more than 2 accredited journalists, and millions more to silence conservative and independent media, exposing the extent to which freedom of speech has been distorted.

In March 2020, a partnership called the Trusted News Initiative (TNI) was established between Big Tech and legacy media. This was formed under the pretext of "working together to ensure that false information myths are prevented," but in reality, information censorship and suppression of speech were carried out under the guise of "countermeasures against false information." In other words, information that is inconvenient for some media and governments has been treated as "false information" and subject to censorship.

It is worth noting that Japan's NHK was also listed in the TNI. It is impossible to overlook the fact that NHK, which claims to be "fair and neutral" in Japan, was participating in an international network for censorship of freedom of speech. In other words, there is a possibility that information in Japan was indirectly manipulated through USAID funds and the TNI framework.

The role of the media is supposed to be to "monitor power" and "provide fair information." However, considering that huge amounts of USAID's funding were channeled to certain media outlets and journalists, and that TNI was selective in the information it took in, it is impossible to deny the possibility that the world's media outlets were being guided in a specific direction. This is not simply a media strategy, but information manipulation at the national level.

In particular, many of the media outlets that USAID supported had a strong anti-conservative tone. In other words, suspicions arose that USAID funds were not being used to protect "fair reporting" but to promote a specific political agenda. If USAID funds were used completely fairly, conservative and independent media would have received similar support. However, in reality, this was not the case, and certain media were targeted for "containment."

This is a serious violation of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not mean that only information that is convenient for the government or those in power is disseminated. Rather, it is important to have an environment in which diverse opinions exist and are discussed fairly. However, USAID's funding and TNI's censorship system have completely undermined this basic principle.

We also cannot overlook the actions of the big tech companies that are listed in the TNI. Major platforms such as Google, Facebook (now Meta), Twitter (now X), and Microsoft have taken steps to delete or restrict posts that they have determined to be "fake information" in accordance with the TNI's guidelines. As a result, certain opinions and information have been suppressed, and only one-sided viewpoints have been spread.

The fact that Japan's NHK also participated in the TNI likely influenced reporting in Japan. It is not clear to what extent NHK followed the TNI guidelines in its reporting, but it cannot be denied that it at the very least functioned as part of an international censorship network. Further investigation into this point is required in Japan.

Given this situation, it is highly likely that the relationship between USAID and TNI was not simply "media support," but a state-sponsored information manipulation project. Moreover, its influence was not limited to the United States, but extended to Europe, Asia, and Japan. If a force with a specific political motive were trying to control speech on a global scale, it would be a serious threat to democracy.

As information recipients, we must reconsider what we should believe. Major media reports are not necessarily "facts"; rather, information may be edited with a specific agenda. Now that the existence of organizations like USAID and TNI has come to light, we should be more cautious about the way information is distributed.

Furthermore, it seems that in the future, Japan too needs to reform its domestic system to ensure media transparency. We should demand more detailed disclosure of information on the flow of public funds and the relationships the media has with international organizations.

Further investigation is required to determine the extent to which USAID funding and TNI information censorship had an impact. In particular, considering that NHK was involved in this network, it is possible that Japan's domestic information environment was also influenced by international sources. We must seriously consider what we can do to protect freedom of speech in the future.

Written by: Editorial Department B

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