Daily Wire host Michael Knowles spoke to a large crowd at the University of Utah on Monday night, calling out the growing trend — especially among young Americans – of transgender identity.
At the beginning of his Young America&#8217;s Foundation speech, Knowles, who has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-knew-the-libs-were-going-to-run-with-it-knowles-says-call-to-eradicate-transgender-ideology-cornered-left-wing-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">angered the Left</a> with past comments on transgenderism, said he was surprised that even in “meek and mild Utah,” he saw a video of “some wild banshee-like lady accosting, assaulting one of the students here as the student was hanging up flyers for this lecture tonight.”
Knowles said the video was proof that conservatives across the country, even in Utah, are not safe from being thrown into the middle of a culture war where common sense is met with the hatred of leftists.
“The commonsense view to which the protester objected is banal and self-evident: men and women are different, men can’t become women, and women can’t become men,” Knowles said.
The universal truth surrounding human beings’ biology has been challenged in Western cultures around the globe, but radical transgender theory and the confusion it brings seems to be most prevalent in the U.S., according to Knowles.
“Contrary to the pretensions of purple-haired, perpetually aggrieved American leftists, the obsession with turning fellas into ladies is not universal. Transgenderism is a largely American phenomenon.”
“According to a recent <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/28/new-study-on-rise-in-transgender-shows-its-a-fad-especially-among-young-girls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> out of Virginia Tech’s School of Medicine, 80% of sampled diagnoses of ‘gender dysphoria’ come from the United States. Eighty percent. Is there something in our water? Is it the seed oils? Maybe it is the seed oils,” the Daily Wire host added, sparking laughter from the audience. “Is it something in the air? Maybe. I suspect, however, it has more to do with politics and social fads, but whatever the cause, transgenderism seems to be an especially American problem.”
Knowles cited a 2016 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/health/transgender-population.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times, which found that even eight years ago, the number of adults identifying as transgender in the U.S. had doubled in five years. Pew Research also found that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/06/07/about-5-of-young-adults-in-the-u-s-say-their-gender-is-different-from-their-sex-assigned-at-birth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 5%</a> of American adults under the age of 30 identify as “transgender” or “nonbinary” and were three times more likely than the general population to identify as “trans.”
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“There are not sufficient data to say that America is the most ‘trans’ country in the world. There’s a lot of evidence to suggest it. But then other surveys award that dubious distinction to Brazil or alternately to Germany, to Sweden, to Switzerland. We just don’t know,” said Knowles. “Transgenderism is a weird, relatively new, still-niche thing, and we don’t yet have reliable numbers. We probably won’t have reliable numbers any time soon because trans identity is growing exponentially.”
Knowles pointed out how other Western nations, such as Sweden, Finland, and France, began pumping the brakes on and even outright banning transgender procedures for children while the U.S. has continued moving forward with offering life-altering gender surgeries and hormonal drugs to minors.
“As Europe began to ban the trans-ing of kids, America’s rulers—up to and including Mr. Biden—issued orders to expand it,” Knowles said.
Knowles added that the president, who has been described as a &#8220;devout Catholic&#8221; by legacy media and White House staff, has doubled down on his embrace of &#8220;transgender ideology&#8221; over the course of his administration, even proclaiming March 31 of this year as “Trans Day of Visibility” when the 31st was Easter Sunday.
“Joe Biden, of course, has never been deterred from error by his supposed faith,” Knowles said. “So while practically everyone turns away from transgender ideology, Joe Biden has doubled down. And it’s not just Biden; it’s the whole American political establishment. When it comes to transgender ideology, America is a radical outlier.”
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Transgenderism: America&#039;s Problem | Michael Knowles LIVE at University of Utah" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bp1wS6yc5eI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Michael Knowles

‘An Especially American Problem’: Michael Knowles Addresses The U.S. Establishment’s Radical Embrace Of Transgenderism

'An Especially American Problem': Michael Knowles Addresses The U.S. Establishment's Radical Embrace Of Transgenderism 

Politics

Social Issues

The Daily Wire

Transgender

Utah

Young America's Foundation

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro visited one of America’s forgotten cities devastated by the fentanyl crisis to speak with family members of people who have died from drug overdoses in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/fentanyl-america-s-silent-epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest episode</a> of his docu-series, “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-divided-states-of-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Divided States of Biden</a>.” 
In the episode, Shapiro traveled to Camden, New Jersey, a city that has been completely ravaged by drugs, overdose deaths, and homelessness. He spoke with those who have been negatively impacted and why advocates are demanding that the Biden administration do more to fight the spread of fentanyl throughout America. 
“In the heart of America&#8217;s towns and cities, a silent crisis brews, one that knows no boundaries, spares no community, and leaves a trail of devastation in its wake,” Shapiro said. “The fentanyl crisis has become America&#8217;s deadliest drug epidemic, claiming lives with unprecedented potency and stealth. Behind the statistics lie the real stories of loss and despair, and a growing sense of abandonment by those who know that Joe Biden and his administration have not done nearly enough to protect American citizens.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
China sends it to Mexico. The Mexican drug cartels move it across our border. 100,000+ Americans die of fentanyl poisoning every year &#8211; it kills more Americans 18-45 than any other cause. This is the on-the-ground story of America’s silent epidemic &#8211; an act of war against the… <a href="https://t.co/nml57CtMJw">pic.twitter.com/nml57CtMJw</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1772299767428620460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The episode “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/fentanyl-america-s-silent-epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fentanyl: America’s Silent Epidemic</a>” features interviews with advocates, lawmakers, and investigators who have dug into the worsening crisis. It was released on Sunday on DailyWire+. 
Fentanyl overdoses have skyrocketed in recent years, rising from just 3,000 in 2013 to more than 73,000 in 2022. Death by fentanyl overdose is, by many estimates, the leading cause of death for those ages 18 to 45. To get a firsthand look at the crisis, Shapiro went to Kensington Avenue in Camden, where drug use is rampant and out in the open. Shapiro said that once someone enters the area, “all hell breaks loose.” 
“It&#8217;s just miles of drug addicts, people who are missing limbs and toes and fingers,” Shapiro said. “You&#8217;re seeing people who are bent over at the waist because the drugs have done such horrific things to their body they&#8217;re not capable of standing up straight. It looks like something out of ‘The Walking Dead.’”
<h3><a class="c-link" href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/fentanyl-america-s-silent-epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/fentanyl-america-s-silent-epidemic" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-1928">WATCH: Fentanyl: America’s Silent Epidemic</a></h3>
During the episode, Shapiro spoke with several women who lost family members to drug overdoses. They are now advocates for cracking down on those who distribute illicit drugs and called on the Biden administration to do more to shut down the flow of drugs coming over the U.S. southern border. 
April Babcock, whose son Austen died of fentanyl poisoning, said Biden’s border policies are a “punch” to her face. 
“I thought the sitting president is supposed to put Americans first,” she told Shapiro. “He has given operational control to the Mexican cartels. That&#8217;s exactly what he&#8217;s done.”
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Shapiro agreed, saying that decisive action was needed to stop the flow of fentanyl across the border. 
“It&#8217;s simply not in China&#8217;s and Mexico&#8217;s interest to stop the fentanyl trafficking, which means that absent strong American action, nothing is going to get done,” Shapiro said. “Solutions like increased funding for detection technology at our border or say, you know, shutting down the border itself haven&#8217;t been tried either. All of this information leads to the same conclusion: Joe Biden is unserious about fentanyl, and people are dying in unprecedented numbers because of it.”

Screen Shot 2024-03-18 at 1.19.04 PM

Ben Shapiro Shows How Biden Has Made Fentanyl Crisis Worse In New Docu-Series Episode

Ben Shapiro

Biden Administration

Drugs

Fentanyl

General

Homelessness

New Jersey

Following the 2024 Oscars on Sunday in Los Angeles, Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/andrew-klavan-ben-shapiro-talk-trump-political-strategy-transgenderism-more-on-the-search" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Klavan</a> discussed Hollywood&#8217;s &#8220;wokeness&#8221; and its hypocrisy regarding racism.
During Klavan&#8217;s Monday appearance on &#8220;<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michael-knowles-megyn-kelly-slam-nyt-article-suggesting-fani-willis-is-targeted-because-she-is-a-black-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michael-knowles-megyn-kelly-slam-nyt-article-suggesting-fani-willis-is-targeted-because-she-is-a-black-woman" data-sk="tooltip_parent">The Megyn Kelly Show&#8221;</a> <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhiADHVu7eI&amp;t=309s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhiADHVu7eI&amp;t=309s" data-sk="tooltip_parent">podcast</a>, the two discussed the <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oppenheimer-sweeps-96th-academy-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oppenheimer-sweeps-96th-academy-awards" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Academy&#8217;s</a> <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oscars-announce-new-inclusion-standards-for-best-picture-revolving-around-underrepresented-groups" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oscars-announce-new-inclusion-standards-for-best-picture-revolving-around-underrepresented-groups" data-sk="tooltip_parent">new representation rules</a> that must be met to be nominated for Best Picture, encompassing diversity both onscreen and behind the scenes. To be eligible for Best Picture, a movie must meet at least two representation standards across four categories, which Kelly said include criteria mandating the inclusion of &#8220;women or racial or ethnic groups who are underrepresented, like LGBTQ&#8221; and &#8220;people with disabilities.&#8221;
The ceremony was hosted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftist-mag-targets-megyn-kelly-blackface-is-not-okay-kelly-blisters-them-take-it-up-w-jimmy-fallon-joy-behar-jimmy-kimmel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jimmy Kimmel,</a> a late-night host and comedian who has previously worn blackface.
Kelly suggested that maybe it&#8217;s the Academy &#8220;trying to make up with their racist past without ever acknowledging it,&#8221; as she pointed out when they had &#8220;Billy Crystal on the Oscars in blackface&#8221; and celebrated &#8220;Tropic Thunder,&#8221; in which Robert Downey Jr. wore blackface in the movie.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Hollywood&#039;s Obvious Hypocrisy on Who Gets Canceled and Who Gets Celebrated, with Andrew Klavan" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MhiADHVu7eI?start=309&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Klavan agreed and pointed out how offensive it was when comedian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-hart">Kevin Hart</a> was first picked to host the Oscars in 2019 and was then told by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rooms-are-very-cold-kevin-hart-says-he-wont-ever-host-oscars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Academy</a> he had to apologize over previous tweets or he wouldn&#8217;t be the host.
&#8220;Kevin Hart, a black guy, who worked to the top of one of the toughest professions to get to, comedy, show business,&#8221; Klavan explained. &#8220;His dream was to host the Oscars and because they found some tweet making a discouraging or disparaging remark about gay people…So he was canceled from his dream job after working to get to the place where he would be offered that job.&#8221;
The Daily Wire host said that, in addition to all the new rules, the 96th Academy Awards were &#8220;the most white Oscars I can remember.&#8221;
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1710096758317000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3iaq6q-Qs351snTwJA_ODg">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;I mean none of the black actors, only one black actress [Da&#8217;Vine Joy Randolph] won for her role,&#8221; Klavan told Kelly. &#8220;She was very good in &#8216;The Holdovers&#8217; but the rest it was all &#8216;Oppenheimer&#8217; [a] pure white cast. All of the stories [movies] that were celebrated were white except for &#8216;American Fiction,&#8217; which was a very good movie making fun of woke white people. Making fun of the fact that black people have to basically take on the roles that rich white woke people give them or they can’t make a living.&#8221;
&#8220;The entire Oscars was just a disaster for its own wokeness,&#8221; he added, noting that &#8220;wokeness&#8221; only serves &#8220;rich white people,&#8221; not the &#8220;black guy or any of us in our lives.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rooms-are-very-cold-kevin-hart-says-he-wont-ever-host-oscars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8216;Rooms Are Very Cold&#8217;: Kevin Hart Says He Won&#8217;t Ever Host Oscars</a>
&nbsp;

GDWOODMANAK15

Andrew Klavan On Hollywood’s ‘Wokeness’ And Its Hypocrisy When It Comes To Racism

Andrew Klavan On Hollywood's 'Wokeness' And Its Hypocrisy When It Comes To Racism

Andrew Klavan

Entertainment

Hollywood

Media

Megyn Kelly

During Tuesday&#8217;s “Backstage” event on DailyWire+, Daily Wire podcast host Candace Owens explained why she sees Taylor Swift as “the most toxic feminist that’s ever existed.”
The show hosts — including Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, and their fellow Daily Wire hosts Michael Knowles and Matt Walsh — touched on a wide range of topics, including pop star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a>, who has made headlines over the last year for her international concert tour and film, as well as her romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
When the topic of Swift came up, Owens did not mince words about her views on the pop icon.
“Obviously, if you&#8217;ve seen what she&#8217;s even done in business and how she tries to manipulate her audiences to get out of deals and contracts, she&#8217;s totally insane. She&#8217;s the most toxic feminist that&#8217;s ever existed,” Owens began before noting that if Swift doesn’t “get what she wants,” she has a legion of fans who will target her opponents.
Following a brief discussion of Swift’s tendency to write songs about her exes, Owens talked about the pop star’s battle with record executive Scooter Braun.
“They tried to kill Scooter Braun&#8217;s family, and he did nothing wrong other than purchase her catalog,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And he only had it for like six months before he let somebody else purchase it. But she hated Scooter Braun.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealCandaceO</a> on Taylor Swift: &#8220;She&#8217;s the most toxic feminist that&#8217;s ever existed.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/yXtxmZ4udj">pic.twitter.com/yXtxmZ4udj</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1757564058738581537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
Owens went on to cast doubt on the authenticity of Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce, calling it a “business move.”
When Walsh commented that calling Swift the “most toxic feminist” was a significant statement, Owens explained her choice of phrasing.
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“Toxic feminism … She literally said, ‘Lena Dunham taught me feminism,’ which basically means that you can get whatever you want so long as you&#8217;re able to sell to people that you&#8217;re a victim because you&#8217;re a woman. And she has done it to the tune of a billion dollars,” Owens stated.
“She re-recorded her catalog and resold the same album because Scooter Braun legally purchased her catalog,&#8221; said Owens. &#8220;Her dad was sitting on the board of the company and she said, ‘I didn&#8217;t know it was getting sold.’ You didn&#8217;t know it was getting sold? Your dad is sitting on the board of the company. What are you talking about? But eight-year-old girls don&#8217;t understand business, so they then just tried to kill Scooter.”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-should-impeach-biden-for-exact-same-thing-daily-wire-hosts-respond-to-mayorkas-impeachment">‘They Should Impeach Biden For Exact Same Thing’: Daily Wire Hosts Respond To Mayorkas Impeachment</a>

MixCollage-14-Feb-2024-10-02-AM-6804

WATCH: Candace Owens Slams Taylor Swift: ‘Most Toxic Feminist That’s Ever Existed’

Candace Owens

Celebrities

Taylor Swift

U.S.

Daily Wire&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/crain-and-company" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crain and Company</a>&#8221; hosts slammed the NFL for having the &#8220;Black National Anthem&#8221; sung before our <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/national-anthem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national anthem</a> was played ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.
During the Daily Wire hosts&#8217; appearance on Monday on &#8220;The Megyn Kelly Show&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2zOVDBs69s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a>, Megyn Kelly asked Jake Crain, Blain Crain, and David Cone what they thought of fans being &#8220;subjected to the so-called Black National Anthem&#8221; — &#8220;Lift Every Voice and Sing&#8221; — before the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers took the field on Sunday in Las Vegas on the world&#8217;s biggest stage.
Jake Crain interjected, &#8220;Didn’t we fight a huge war inside the country so that we would stop doing this? So, we would have one national anthem. One of the reasons that aliens won&#8217;t talk to us is because we are this stupid.&#8221;
&#8220;We think to combat racism we should look at everything through color … I just don&#8217;t know why we do this,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Can you imagine? Where&#8217;s the Hispanic national anthem? Where&#8217;s the Asian national anthem?&#8221;
Blain Crain said the &#8220;Black National Anthem&#8221; says it wants &#8220;to lift everybody&#8217;s voices and you&#8217;re excluding every other race.&#8221; 
&#8220;It makes no sense to me. I didn&#8217;t even know they&#8217;ve been doing this back since 2020,&#8221; he added. &#8220;There’s one national anthem. That&#8217;s it.&#8221; 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Megyn Kelly Slams Taylor Swift &quot;Overload&quot; at the Super Bowl, with &quot;Crain &amp; Company&quot; Hosts" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G2zOVDBs69s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Jake Crain added, &#8220;We brought Reba McEntire to the Super Bowl, not to sing the white national anthem,&#8221; asking what are we doing?
The host of &#8220;The Megyn Kelly Show&#8221; agreed and called it &#8220;divisive.&#8221;
&#8220;There’s one national anthem for all of us,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-rips-biden-for-skipping-super-bowl-interview-he-physically-cannot-get-the-words-out" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kelly</a> said. &#8220;Every American. There&#8217;s no point, and actually, it&#8217;s a middle finger to the country, to those of us that love each other irrespective of skin color to try to divide us by race when we get to anthems at the Super Bowl.&#8221;
Daily Wire host David Cone said one of the first steps that&#8217;s needed, from a marketing perspective, is to &#8220;stop calling it the &#8216;Black National Anthem'&#8221; and said the &#8220;NFL has found themselves in this tough spot where they are trying to market to all these demographics and make everyone happy.&#8221;
He said that the bottom line is the league isn&#8217;t going to be able to &#8220;make everyone happy.&#8221; However, Cone did credit the NFL and players as there was no <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nfl-legend-brett-favre-says-kneeling-for-national-anthem-created-more-turmoil-than-good" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kneeling</a> during the national anthem, a short trend started by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Megyn Kelly/Crain & Co.

Crain & Co. Hosts Slam Super Bowl’s ‘Black National Anthem’ In Sit-Down With Megyn Kelly

Crain & Co. Hosts Slam Super Bowl's 'Black National Anthem' In Sit-Down With Megyn Kelly

Crain and Co

National Anthem

Super Bowl

“Anti-racist” activist Ibram X. Kendi on Friday declined Daily Wire host Matt Walsh&#8217;s offer to debate the topic of world slavery following a viral exchange the pair had over its history.
Kendi last week accused Walsh of engaging in &#8220;White savior&#8221; rhetoric after Walsh noted that white people did not invent slavery &#8220;but were the first to abolish it.&#8221; The racial activist&#8217;s vague reasoning for declining the debate offer relied on &#8220;many historians&#8221; supposedly proving Walsh&#8217;s claims wrong, though little other information was given.
&#8220;Kendi declines my invitation to debate the history of slavery because, he says, &#8216;many historians&#8217; have already said that he&#8217;s right,&#8221; Walsh said on X on Monday, quoting a post from Kendi.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kendi declines my invitation to debate the history of slavery because, he says, &quot;many historians&quot; have already said that he&#39;s right. <a href="https://t.co/AutVKNw8O9">https://t.co/AutVKNw8O9</a>
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1757049102813020268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The exchange started after Walsh posted a response last Tuesday to a post on X that claimed, “Slavery is white history. How we survived it is black history.”
“Slavery is world history,” Walsh reacted. “White people did not invent it, and were not the first to practice it, but were the first to abolish it. The last place in the world to still have legal slavery was Africa. It wasn’t fully legally abolished on the continent until 1981.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Slavery is world history. White people did not invent it, and were not the first to practice it, but were the first to abolish it. The last place in the world to still have legal slavery was Africa. It wasn&#39;t fully legally abolished on the continent until 1981. <a href="https://t.co/ZfTvdLXydt">https://t.co/ZfTvdLXydt</a>
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1754861562987196517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kendi was apparently irked by the post &#8212; which has been viewed more than 6.8 million times &#8212; and replied to Walsh, “The ultimate White savior statement.”
In turn, Walsh offered to debate Kendi on the topic, posting, &#8220;Why don&#8217;t we have a conversation live on camera about this issue? You can explain to me in person why my statements about slavery are wrong. What do you say [Ibram X. Kendi]?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Why don&#39;t we have a conversation live on camera about this issue? You can explain to me in person why my statements about slavery are wrong. What do you say <a href="https://twitter.com/ibramxk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ibramxk</a>?
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1755423531549024571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Days later, Kendi told Walsh he would not debate him because it &#8220;would be a huge waste of my time&#8221; and accused Walsh of &#8220;producing propaganda about the superior greatness of White people for White consumption.&#8221;
&#8220;Many historians have already explained why your statements about slavery are wrong,&#8221; Kendi wrote. &#8220;It would be a huge waste of my time repeating what has already been shared with you. What is factually right and factually wrong doesn’t seem to matter to you. You seem intent on producing propaganda about the superior greatness of White people for White consumption.&#8221;
The Critical Race Theory (CRT) guru then suggested Walsh was wrong because of his supposed implied emphasis, not necessarily the facts Walsh stated.
&#8220;Your propaganda, this time, can be boiled down to three ideas: (1) White enslavers are hardly responsible for slavery in the Americas—but White people *are* responsible for the global abolition of slavery. (2) White enslavers are hardly responsible for enslaving Black people, but they are responsible for saving Black people from slavery. (3) The world and the historian should be praising White people for abolishing slavery and saving Black people,&#8221; Kendi posted. &#8220;The ultimate White savior statement.&#8221;
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Many historians have already explained why your statements about slavery are wrong. It would be a huge waste of my time repeating what has already been shared with you.
What is factually right and factually wrong doesn’t seem to matter to you. You seem intent on producing…
&mdash; Ibram X. Kendi (@ibramxk) <a href="https://twitter.com/ibramxk/status/1755988813384405064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Kendi, who gained prominence after George Floyd died in 2020, developed a career pushing Critical Race Theory through books and speaking engagements. In 2021, the MacArthur Foundation announced that Kendi would receive a $625,000 five-year grant for research. Kendi, who says that America is systemically racist, often charges steep fees for speaking engagements.
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In 2020, Kendi also started an education center at Boston University that focused on “anti-racist research.” Last year, however, Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ibram-x-kendis-academic-center-focusing-on-antiracism-to-fire-staffers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired</a> around 20 staffers, and the university <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boston-university-announces-inquiry-into-ibram-x-kendis-antiracist-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it would launch an inquiry into the center after complaints about its culture.
Since publishing “How to Be an Antiracist,” Kendi has drawn criticism for promoting the theory that all racial disparities are due to racism. He has also faced criticism for his book “Antiracist Baby,” a children’s picture book that introduces children to the concept of anti-racism.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/matt-walsh-challenges-crt-proponent-ibram-x-kendi-to-live-debate-over-slavery-after-viral-social-media-exchange" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Walsh Challenges CRT Proponent Ibram X. Kendi To Live Debate Over Slavery After Viral Social Media Exchange</a>

Matt Walsh/Ibram X. Kendi

‘Antiracist Baby’ Author Kendi Refuses To Debate Matt Walsh After Viral Exchange On Slavery

‘Antiracist Baby’ Author Ibram X. Kendi Refuses To Debate Matt Walsh After Viral Exchange On Slavery

Anti-Racism

Ibram X. Kendi

Matt Walsh

Slavery

Daily Wire host Matt Walsh challenged “anti-racist” activist Ibram X. Kendi to a debate after the leftist author said Walsh’s take on slavery was “the ultimate White savior statement.”
Kendi was irked by Walsh’s response on Tuesday to a post on X that claimed, &#8220;Slavery is white history. How we survived it is black history.&#8221;
“Slavery is world history,” Walsh wrote. “White people did not invent it, and were not the first to practice it, but were the first to abolish it. The last place in the world to still have legal slavery was Africa. It wasn&#8217;t fully legally abolished on the continent until 1981.”
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Slavery is world history. White people did not invent it, and were not the first to practice it, but were the first to abolish it. The last place in the world to still have legal slavery was Africa. It wasn&#39;t fully legally abolished on the continent until 1981. <a href="https://t.co/ZfTvdLXydt">https://t.co/ZfTvdLXydt</a>
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1754861562987196517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Walsh was applauded by numerous people for his take, including X owner Elon Musk, who simply replied, “True.” Walsh’s post, which was viewed more than six million times, triggered a huge response, including from Kendi, who <a href="https://twitter.com/ibramxk/status/1755249100532891764" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quote-tweeted</a> Walsh’s statement and described it as “The ultimate White savior statement.”
While Kendi’s post was slammed by numerous social media users — including the popular X accounts of The Babylon Bee’s Joel Berry and End Wokeness — Walsh replied to the Critical Race Theory apologist’s comment with an offer.
“Why don&#8217;t we have a conversation live on camera about this issue?” he <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1755423531549024571" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a>. “You can explain to me in person why my statements about slavery are wrong. What do you say @ibramxk?”
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Why don&#39;t we have a conversation live on camera about this issue? You can explain to me in person why my statements about slavery are wrong. What do you say <a href="https://twitter.com/ibramxk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ibramxk</a>?
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1755423531549024571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The author of “How To Be an Antiracist” has yet to respond publicly to Walsh’s offer for an on-camera debate. Kendi, who gained prominence after George Floyd died in 2020, developed a career pushing Critical Race Theory through books and speaking engagements. In 2021, the MacArthur Foundation announced that Kendi would receive a $625,000 five-year grant for research. Kendi, who says that America is systemically racist, often charges steep fees for speaking engagements.
In 2020, Kendi also started an education center at Boston University that focused on “anti-racist research.” Last year, however, Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ibram-x-kendis-academic-center-focusing-on-antiracism-to-fire-staffers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired</a> around 20 staffers, and the university <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boston-university-announces-inquiry-into-ibram-x-kendis-antiracist-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it would launch an inquiry into the center after complaints about its culture.
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Since publishing “How To Be an Antiracist,” Kendi has drawn criticism for promoting the theory that all racial disparities are due to racism. He has also faced criticism for his book “Antiracist Baby,” a children’s picture book that introduces children to the concept of anti-racism.
Leif Le Mahieu and Mairead Elordi contributed to this report.

Matt Walsh Challenges CRT Proponent Ibram X. Kendi To Live Debate Over Slavery After Viral Social Media Exchange

Major players in the music industry are suppressing independent artist Tom MacDonald and his new song “Facts” featuring Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro, according to MacDonald.
The rapper posted a video to his social media on Sunday accusing the music distribution company TuneCore as well as YouTube of suppressing “Facts,” described by MacDonald as a takedown of establishment and mainstream media “sacred cows.”
“This is how the music industry screws independent artists. Whether you like me or hate me or think my music is awesome or think it’s trash, I don’t care,” began MacDonald. “I just dropped a new video and a new song called ‘Facts’ with Ben Shapiro. TuneCore, a distribution company for independent artists, refused to release the song because of ‘lyrical content.’ Now, YouTube is screwing with us on the trending charts,”
MacDonald showed a screenshot of rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the top trending spot on YouTube, with “Facts” behind at number two.
“Our video has over a million more views than hers in the same time frame. Our video also has over 30,000 more comments in the same time frame,” explained MacDonald. “How is Megan Thee Stallion still number one? Because the industry wants you to listen to manufactured bulls*** and they don’t want you listening to ‘controversial music.’ That’s the music industry.”
“So, if you want to help us beat the machine, again, <a href="https://t.co/4wNCC4iEtH" target="_blank" rel="noopener">head to iTunes</a>, head to Amazon, download our new song ‘Facts’ by Tom MacDonald and Ben Shapiro and maybe go drop a bunch of comments on our music video. Love y’all, appreciate the help. Get those downloads in, let’s go,” he added.
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MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. To the folks who decide to help us out &#8211; thank you. 
iTunes: <a href="https://t.co/4wNCC4iEtH">https://t.co/4wNCC4iEtH</a>
Amazon: <a href="https://t.co/iD4Cfb8joB">https://t.co/iD4Cfb8joB</a>
Video: <a href="https://t.co/5AAG3NI0rs">https://t.co/5AAG3NI0rs</a> <a href="https://t.co/6sFs98ySle">pic.twitter.com/6sFs98ySle</a>
&mdash; Tom MacDonald (@IAMTOMMACDONALD) <a href="https://twitter.com/IAMTOMMACDONALD/status/1751676537865421020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
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MacDonald and Shapiro, a longtime critic of rap as a genre of music, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-debuts-rap-video-with-tom-macdonald" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> the new single on Friday. Hours after the release, “Facts” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiros-rap-debut-facts-with-tom-macdonald-becomes-1-song-in-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climbed</a> the charts on iTunes to become the top song in the United States.
“I just want to thank God, [Tom MacDonald], and my parents, who paid for 15 years of classical violin lessons so I could become the #1 rapper in America,” Shapiro posted on X after “Facts” hit number one.
“As a longtime devotee of rap, becoming a rapper was the natural next step in my career trajectory,” Shapiro said. “So, when Tom asked if I wanted to collaborate on a song, I leapt at the chance. This was the moment I spent 20 years of classical violin training preparing for. For those who don’t appreciate my artistic stylings, all I can say is that they didn’t appreciate Bach properly in his own time, either.”
“I like to do things nobody else can do,” MacDonald said after releasing “Facts.” “Not everybody can get Ben Shapiro on a track. For someone who had never recorded a rap song before, he got in the studio and nailed it. We’ve both criticized the status quo of hip-hop, so it made sense. There is a good intention at the heart of ‘Facts.’ There is light.”

Ben Shapiro/Tom MacDonald

Tom MacDonald Says Big Tech Suppressing New Rap With Ben Shapiro: ‘The Industry Wants You To Listen To Manufactured Bulls***’

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro offered his thoughts Monday after learning that Governor Ron Desantis (R-FL) had bowed out of the 2024 presidential race – and had endorsed former President Donald Trump in the process.
Shapiro, who was in Poland with X and Tesla CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-mark-cuban-debate-dei-when-should-we-expect-to-see-a-short-white-asian-woman-on-the-mavs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> for a tour of the infamous Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau, took a brief moment to share his thoughts in a video posted to X.
WATCH:
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My reaction to DeSantis dropping out of the race <a href="https://t.co/5jm6dveso2">pic.twitter.com/5jm6dveso2</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1749486469880643981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Well, folks, I&#8217;m here in Poland, I was visiting Auschwitz with Elon Musk today,&#8221; Shapiro began, noting that he had not had time earlier to respond to Sunday afternoon&#8217;s breaking news that DeSantis was exiting the race.
&#8220;Obviously, Governor DeSantis was my favorite candidate in the race,&#8221; Shapiro continued. &#8220;I think he would have made the best president of all the candidates who are in the race, and obviously, the Republican voting base wants Donald Trump. And you know what? That&#8217;s the Republican voting base&#8217;s prerogative.&#8221;
Shapiro went on to say that he certainly believed there would be &#8220;a future for Ron DeSantis&#8221; and added, &#8220;I think there will be another time for Ron DeSantis again. Best Governor in the country.&#8221;
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&#8220;With that said, this primary race — as I said after Iowa – is over,&#8221; Shapiro concluded. &#8220;It remains over. New Hampshire will be won by Donald Trump. It&#8217;s time for the party to coalesce around the guy who is going to beat Joe Biden — and that guy is Donald Trump.&#8221;
Shapiro made a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-reveals-his-takeaway-from-iowa-caucuses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">similar statement</a> shortly after the results came in from the Iowa caucuses – which Trump won handily with 51% of the vote, followed by DeSantis with 21% and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley with 19%.
&#8220;Donald Trump is so far out ahead that the rest of the field can’t even see him. This is Secretariat against the rest of the field in the 1973 Belmont Stakes,&#8221; he said at the time. &#8220;It means that, de facto, Trump is the nominee. If no one can challenge him in Iowa, if nobody really has a chance of challenging him based on the momentum going into New Hampshire, if nobody has a challenge for him in South Carolina, then all you can say at this point is that he is preparing for the general election against Joe Biden.&#8221;
&nbsp;

Ben Shapiro Reacts To DeSantis Bowing Out Of 2024 Race

2024 Election

2024 Primaries

Donald Trump

Ron DeSantis

The Daily Wire on Tuesday sued the Virginia school system at the center of a rape coverup, stating that Loudoun County Public Schools is violating public records laws by refusing the news outlet’s requests for documentation on legal settlements.
Loudoun, like other school districts throughout the country, has abused “privacy” laws to refuse to turn over basic information under the guise of protecting children’s identities, even if children’s identities would not be exposed. The reference to inapplicable privacy laws suggests the school district&#8217;s real purpose may be to hide embarrassing conduct by administrators.
The Daily Wire’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asked for a list of legal settlements by LCPS. That essentially amounts to a list of times the school district did something it could have been sued for, and how much taxpayer money it spent to make it go away. Out-of-court settlements allow the district to avoid a public trial, and settlements can require the other party to agree to certain terms — perhaps even a stipulation preventing them from talking about the school’s misconduct — in exchange for the money.
On October 2, 2023 The Daily Wire requested &#8220;copies of all legal settlements entered into between May 1, 2023 and the present,&#8221; specifying that it was “not seeking the name of the student or the parents, and you should redact those names.”
LCPS first claimed the request was too broad  – suggesting it had entered into so many settlements that it would be burdensome to produce them. Then it claimed that “even if the student’s name is removed,” settlements would still be a private academic record “given that the requestor (or others) could discern the identity” of a student involved.
The Daily Wire then requested just a financial ledger showing the dollar amounts spent on legal settlements. LCPS claimed, without explanation, that it had “no records that are responsive to your request,” suggesting the unlikely situation that the school system does not keep financial records.
The Daily Wire “filed a valid FOIA request seeking information on the amount of money the School Board and Administration has spent to cover-up and avoid responsibility for their actions,” the <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/2024.01.16_LCPS-FOIA-Complaint_As-Filed.pdf">lawsuit filed by America First Legal</a> said.
“The documents requested are of the type that can be released, and are released by other school districts in the Commonwealth,”  the lawyers write in the lawsuit, referencing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-district-pays-600k-to-settle-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-after-scotus-declines-to-hear-argument-that-could-give-schools-one-free-rape">records disclosed</a> by nearby Fairfax County Public Schools. “The Respondents have not given a proper justification for withholding the requested documents and, instead, have given only shifting, improper, and pretextual reasons for withholding documents it should have simply produced.”
School officials have frequently invoked the federal “Family Educational Right and Privacy Act of 1974,” known as FERPA, to justify secrecy – even if they don’t understand what the law actually says. In the criminal trial of Loudoun’s former superintendent, Scott Ziegler, a principal claimed that a teacher who blew the whistle about being sexually assaulted by a student could have caused the district to be sued for violating privacy, even though the teacher didn’t name the student or even the school.
But FERPA provides no “cause of action” or mechanism to sue. Only the Secretary of Education can enforce the law, theoretically with a loss of federal funding — a drastic step that experts consulted by The Daily Wire could not recall any examples of.
On the other hand, districts can be sued for keeping information secret. This is the second case in a month in which the public-interest legal group <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-sues-biden-doj-for-concealing-records-on-its-partisan-riot-squad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">America First Legal is suing</a> on behalf of The Daily Wire’s investigative journalists.
The lawsuit could also send a message to Loudoun about using the same wrongful interpretation of privacy laws in other instances.
This year, LCPS’s new superintendent, Aaron Spence, was accused of <a href="https://www.loudountimes.com/opinion/our-view-spences-failure-to-communicate-risked-deadly-consequences/article_164eb87e-8fb2-11ee-81b3-8b8d3b353d2a.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concealing the fact that there were nine fentanyl overdoses</a> in one high school in a single month. Spence denied the charge, claiming his ability to disclose the spike was constrained by privacy laws, even though naming an entire high school does not identify a specific child.
<a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/subtitle-A/part-99/subpart-D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FERPA</a> only applies to “education records,” and says schools “may release the records or information without the consent required by [the statute] after the removal of all personally identifiable information provided that the educational agency or institution or other party has made a reasonable determination that a student&#8217;s identity is not personally identifiable.”
It also allows for releasing information “in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.”
Following The Daily Wire’s exposure of Loudoun’s 2021 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/loudoun-county-schools-tried-to-conceal-sexual-assault-against-daughter-in-bathroom-father-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coverup</a> of a rape committed by a skirt-wearing boy, LCPS commissioned an “independent report,” then withheld it citing the privacy of the victim — even when the victim’s family asked for it. LCPS also cited privacy as an excuse to avoid telling parents that the infamous rape had occurred at all, instead telling them the police were at the school for because of an unruly parent—the victim’s father.
LCPS spent at least $1.9 million on lawyers since the 2021 rape scandal, not including the criminal defense fees for Ziegler and the school’s spokesman, and any money it spent paying off potential litigants.
“Over a year ago, a special grand jury in Loudoun County explicitly stated that Loudoun County Public Schools relies on overbroad application of laws to ‘impede transparency, accountability, and openness,’” America First Legal senior advisor Ian Prior said. “Even after LCPS’s former superintendent was criminally indicted and convicted as a result of the special grand jury investigation, LCPS continues to stonewall the public when it comes to legitimate requests for how taxpayer money is being used.”
In addition to asking a judge to force LCPS to release the document, it asks that the court issue “penalties” to LCPS communications officer Dan Adams “and any other Respondent this Court finds substantively involved in the decision to unlawfully withhold documents.”
Across the country, other districts have made dubious claims that telling parents important things that happened at a school would violate the privacy of a child, even if the child wasn’t named.
In Giles County, Tennessee, superintendent Vickie Beard concealed from parents the fact that a student was arrested for allegedly making <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-school-put-would-be-shooter-in-class-told-parents-to-become-left-wing-activists-if-they-objected-parents-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detailed plans to shoot up the school</a>. Beard told them only of an unspecified “rumor,” later saying that “due to Constitutional and privacy rights, we cannot discuss specifics.”
Parents said the idea that the district was concerned that the alleged would-be school shooter would sue the school for invading his privacy is not credible. The real goal, they said, was to keep parents in the dark about a safety failure.
Hannah Riley, whose son testified against the arrested student and was never told that he was coming back to school, pointed out that everyone in a school is a minor, meaning that if officials could invoke “privacy” any time an incident in any way connected to an unnamed minor, they would never have to tell parents anything.
“My kid is a minor. Why did nobody give a damn then?” Riley said.

Loudoun County Courthouse

Daily Wire Sues Loudoun Schools For Misusing Privacy Protections To Hide Wrongdoing

Education

Loudoun County

Virginia

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> panel is pressing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department</a> to be more forthcoming in a probe into alleged government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/censorship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">censorship</a> that is also the subject of a lawsuit brought by The Daily Wire.
GOP lawmakers, who are looking into whether the government funded private entities to discredit small businesses and their owners over their political speech and views, <a href="https://smallbusiness.house.gov/uploadedfiles/01.08.2024_-_letter_3_to_global_engagement_center_re_censorship.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent a letter</a> on Monday to James Rubin, coordinator of the agency&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-twitter-files-twitter-and-the-fbi-belly-button">Global Engagement Center</a> (GEC), <a href="https://smallbusiness.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=405837" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contending</a> the organization&#8217;s previous delivery of information to Congress &#8220;appears to be incomplete&#8221; with dozens of awards doled out in recent years seemingly omitted from the tranche.
“The GEC award recipients revealed in its partial production have caused enough concern that the Committee is requesting more detailed information to understand the reality and scope of what these companies are using taxpayer dollars for,&#8221; wrote Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX) and Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations.
&#8220;The GEC’s initial production was provided to the Committee over five months after the requested due date of June 21, 2023. The result was a five-page spreadsheet; there is no reason the GEC would need one month per page of production. The Committee needs all relevant documents to ensure all American small businesses are able to compete online without interference from the federal government,&#8221; they added.
On its website, the GEC touts how it is focused on <a href="https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-public-diplomacy-and-public-affairs/global-engagement-center/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;proactively&#8221; leading</a> interagency efforts to counter disinformation and propaganda from foreign adversaries. But Republicans suspect the center is surreptitiously propping up activities that suppress free speech at home, particularly on social media as has been illustrated by the &#8220;Twitter Files,&#8221; and they have talked about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jim-jordan-unveils-budget-wishlist-to-fight-weaponized-federal-agencies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulling taxpayer dollars</a> from the GEC.
A deadline of January 22 was given for the additional documents and information requested by the lawmakers.
A State Department spokesperson told The Daily Wire that the agency is &#8220;committed to being responsive to congressional oversight and continues to work with the House Small Business Committee on its requests.&#8221; The spokesperson added, &#8220;However, as a general matter, we do not comment on our communications with Congress.&#8221;
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-us-state-department-conspiring-censor-american-media-companies-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> with The Daily Wire and The Federalist last month in suing the State Department, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-and-the-federalist-sue-biden-state-department-over-censorship-effort" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accusing the government agency</a> of funding censorship technology designed to bankrupt domestic media outlets with disfavored political opinions. The lawsuit seeks to put a stop to the alleged effort to boost censorship organizations that regularly target conservative media outlets with the stated goal of limiting ad revenue.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/technology/state-department-disinformation-criticism.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published a report last month</a> that said Rubin rejected claims that his organization censors Americans&#8217; comments online. “What we do not do is examine or analyze the U.S. information space,” he said.
Also noted in the article was how the Supreme Court is poised to weigh in on a broader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-scores-victory-against-order-blocking-contact-with-social-media-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media censorship case</a> brought by the GOP attorneys general from Missouri and Louisiana in the spring following an appeals court panel ruling that said there was &#8220;no indication that State Department officials flagged specific content for censorship, suggested policy changes to the platforms or engaged in any similar actions that would reasonably bring their conduct within the scope of the First Amendment’s prohibitions.&#8221;

Rep. Roger Williams

House GOP Twists Screws On State Dept In Censorship Probe

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Ken Paxton

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The Daily Wire, The Federalist, and the state of Texas joined on Tuesday in a <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/DailyWire-v-State-final.pdf">lawsuit against the U.S. State Department</a>, alleging that the government agency funded censorship technology designed to bankrupt domestic media outlets with disfavored political opinions.
The State Department is tasked with foreign relations and has no authority over domestic affairs, yet it took a government office designed for countering foreign terrorist propaganda, the Global Engagement Center (GEC), and unleashed it against Americans engaged in what it claimed was &#8220;disinformation,&#8221; according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday night by the New Civil Liberties Alliance.
It was &#8220;one of the most audacious, manipulative, secretive, and gravest abuses of power and infringements of First Amendment rights by the federal government in American history,&#8221; said the suit, which also names Secretary of State Antony Blinken and five other officials as defendants.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the State Department&#8217;s attempt to interfere with domestic speech illegal and to permanently bar it from developing, promoting, or encouraging others to use technology to de-amplify, shadow ban, or restrict &#8220;the lawful speech of the American press and Americans.&#8221;
GEC was founded in 2011 as the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications and tasked with countering the propaganda of foreign terrorists like Al Qaeda. In 2016, it was renamed, but kept the same counterterrorism mission. Congress has made clear that &#8220;none of the funds authorized&#8221; for the entity &#8220;shall be used for purposes other than countering foreign propaganda.&#8221;
Nonetheless, GEC turned its focus on Americans, the complaint alleges, using taxpayer funds to finance the development and promotion of censorship organizations such as NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which regularly target conservative media outlets such as The Daily Wire and The Federalist with the stated goal of limiting ad revenue.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance&#8217;s Mark Chenoweth, who is representing the outlets, said &#8220;the federal government cannot do indirectly what the First Amendment forbids it from doing directly.&#8221;
GDI&#8217;s main product is a &#8220;Dynamic Exclusion List&#8221; of media outlets that it says present a &#8220;high risk for disinformation.&#8221; It licenses the list to advertisers, who adopt it as a convenient way to avoid boycotts from the Left. That playbook was deployed last month against Elon Musk, when blue-chip advertisers were persuaded to stop advertising on the platform because the Left-wing Media Matters group claimed that big companies’ ads occasionally appeared near objectionable content.
GDI says it aims to destroy &#8220;the incentive to create [disinformation] for the purpose of garnering advertising revenues.&#8221;
GDI keeps its main blacklist secret, but publicly published its top 10 &#8220;riskiest” outlets, which was essentially a list of America&#8217;s most prominent and mainstream conservative media publications, including both The Daily Wire and The Federalist, as well as the New York Post, and Reason Magazine.
GDI &#8220;was funded and promoted by State Department Defendants,&#8221; the lawsuit states. &#8220;State Department Defendants&#8217; active intervention in the news media market to make disfavored media unprofitable thus had devastating consequences to Media Plaintiffs.&#8221;
Also funded by the State Department is for-profit company called <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsguard-runs-cover-for-terrorists-in-fact-check-of-ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NewsGuard</a>, which said it aimed to &#8220;cut off revenues to fake news sites&#8221; by coming up with a whitelist that purported to name every legitimate news site. NewsGuard ranks The Federalist as &#8220;unreliable&#8221; and The Daily Wire as &#8220;credible with significant exceptions.&#8221;
GEC funded GDI in 2021 through its U.S.-Paris Tech Challenge, in which GDI was awarded $100,000. The <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/disinformation-inc-state-department-silent-on-if-it-will-ties-global-disinformation-index" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington Examiner</a> reported that the State Department-funded National Endowment for Democracy  apparently funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars more to GDI. The National Endowment for Democracy later acknowledged its &#8220;mandate is to work around the world and not in the United States,&#8221; and thus would no longer fund GDI.
The State Department also co-sponsored a &#8220;COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation&#8221; tech challenge that gave a prize to NewsGuard. NewsGuard said in a press release that it planned to &#8220;help&#8221; the State Department by flagging COVID &#8220;hoaxes.&#8221;
One of the “hoaxes” flagged by NewsGuard was that COVID might have come from a Chinese lab, a scenario now viewed by U.S. agencies to be likely. NewsGuard gave its secret data to scientists from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/atomic-bomb-lab-studying-ways-to-combat-misinformation-including-covid-lab-leak-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Alamos</a>, the lab that created the atomic bomb, who used it to target skeptics of then-conventional COVID wisdom.
The lawsuit says that the government used tools developed to be used against foreign nations against political opponents at home.
&#8220;State Department disinformation tools were developed&#8230; as tools of warfare&#8230; in the context of national security&#8221; and &#8220;foreign relations,&#8221; then &#8220;misdirected to be used at home against domestic political opponents,&#8221; it said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he is &#8220;proud to lead the fight to save Americans’ precious constitutional rights from Joe Biden’s tyrannical federal government.&#8221;
&#8220;The State Department’s mission to obliterate the First Amendment is completely un-American,&#8221; Paxton said. &#8220;This agency will not get away with their illegal campaign to silence citizens and publications they disagree with.”
The lawsuit argues that Paxton&#8217;s ability to enforce Texas&#8217; anti-censorship laws were infringed by the State Department&#8217;s funding of censorship tools.
“The Biden administration is illegally funding organizations with the stated goal of financially crippling media outlets whose coverage does not walk in lockstep with the government’s ideological agenda,&#8221; The Daily Wire said in a statement on the lawsuit. &#8220;We sued the Biden administration before over its unconstitutional vaccine mandate, and we won. This time, we’re suing for our rights, all news organizations’ rights, and the constitutional guarantee of a free press that all Americans deserve.&#8221;

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Daily Wire And The Federalist Sue Biden State Department Over Censorship Effort

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