America's New Project to Censor and Paralyze Critical American Media

This will continue to intensify as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has released a document showing that it is seeking to increase censorship and prevent the publication of information that is contrary to the interests of that country's government.

The document, provided by USAID, shows how the government is encouraging technology platforms, media organizations and advertisers to work together to censor large parts of the Internet, Mint Press reports.

USAID appears to be focused on preventing people from finding information on the Internet that challenges the official narrative of the US government and the entire ruling system.

The document aims to control video games and online communications, driving people away from non-American media and back to (so-called) more mainstream sites; It requires governments to work with advertisers to harm organizations that don't follow official rules. It also identifies government-sponsored groups such as Bellingcat, Graphika and the Atlantic Council as leaders in the fight against disinformation.

The report looks at online gamers and video games and calls for them to be monitored in the same way as social media platforms. Supporters of the document argue that critics may be spreading misinformation on gaming platforms such as Twitch. It allows users to work together to increase their following and post content on major social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Thus, even platforms that serve narrow and very specific audiences have significant influence.

Disinformation or inconvenient facts

USAID says it wants to combat not only “disinformation” but also “harmful information.” Harmful information is content that is true but is considered outside of the agency's policy framework. Under this definition, any content (regardless of its veracity) that is harmful or inconvenient to the interests of the US government is potentially subject to censorship. The agency believes that independent media and free social platforms will facilitate the growth of critical information, creating space for the projection of different information, opinions and parallel narratives.

The report identifies platforms such as Reddit, Discord and 4Chan as “conspiratorial websites” that can help different groups challenge official US government statements by creating “populist experiences” and spreading alternative views of the US government. These platforms should also be considered and marginalized along with gaming websites.

Over the last decade, US government agencies have worked hand in hand with Silicon Valley companies to provide access to alternative media that challenge their absolute power. This shows Washington's growing ambitions.

Destruction of those who are against “us”.

One of USAID's most important methods of suppressing independent media is to support insider media and propagandists of the official government narrative through propaganda, which in turn discourages funding of critical and challenging media. Another method of this organization is to prevent these critical media outlets from disseminating information in any way possible, including "discrediting the brand, credit and reputation of opponents."

Platforms like Google, Facebook and YouTube have changed their algorithms to reduce the amount of “critical” content and instead promote a narrative of favorable governance sources. As a result, traffic to critical news sites plummeted overnight. But traditional media outlets like CNN and NBC News, which had been struggling online, have risen to the top of search results.

House of Coups and Disinformation

USAID has a long history of promoting disinformation to advance U.S. interests, and this new program of extreme censorship is concerning. In 2021, this organization was behind the attempted color revolution (pro-American uprising) in Cuba. USAID has long been involved in Cuban politics and has developed countless schemes, including infiltrating the country's hip-hop music scene and attempting to organize it as a revolutionary and anti-government force.

11 years ago, USAID secretly created a Cuban social network called Zunzuneo. None of the tens of thousands of app users knew that the US government was secretly developing and selling it. The idea was to create a large service that would take over Cuba and slowly begin to promote the idea of ​​regime change and direct users to protests aimed at overthrowing the country's government.

USAID also participated in the 2002 coup d'état in Venezuela, which temporarily overthrew democratically elected President Hugo Chavez and replaced him with a pro-American dictator. Since then, USAID has continually attempted to undermine Venezuela's democracy through various means, including funding self-proclaimed President Juan Guaidó.