Gov. Greg Abbott Does Not Seem Concerned That He’s Funding a Texas University Lab That Worked to Censor Conservatives
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declined to answer repeated questions from the Daily Caller News Foundation on whether he believes it is appropriate for taxpayer funds to support a Texas university’s project that worked to censor conservatives.
The University of Texas at Austin houses the Global Disinformation Lab, established in 2020 to research a “broad spectrum of information, misinformation, and disinformation via digital media.” The lab recently partnered with the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which works to blacklist conservative news sites from ad exchanges, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner, for a research report released in December 2022.
Researchers from the UT Austin lab analyzed 69 news websites between June and October, finding conservative websites — including the New York Post, Reason, RealClearPolitics, The Daily Wire, The Blaze, OANN, The American Conservative, The Federalist, Newsmax and The American Spectator — most at risk for disinformation, according to the review. Meanwhile, liberal-leaning websites like The Washington Post, BuzzFeed News and The New York Times were rated “low” risk.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Governor Abbot’s office on seven occasions over the course of a week, asking his opinion on taxpayer funds going to the lab’s projects, as the university receives 24% of its funding from state and county support. Communications director Renae Eze provided a statement highlighting Abbott’s freedom of speech initiatives but did not address the question.
“The University of Texas is not currently partnering with the UK-based index and will not in the future,” Eze said. “Here in Texas, Governor Abbott has long-championed freedom of speech for Texans and Americans. In the last two legislative sessions, the Governor has fought for and signed legislation into law protecting Texans from wrongful censorship on social media platforms and protecting free speech on Texas’ college campuses. And just last month, Governor Abbott helped facilitate a pivotal agreement between Newsmax and DIRECTV to protect the right of conservative voices and viewpoints to be heard.” (Read more from “Gov. Greg Abbott Does Not Seem Concerned That He’s Funding a Texas University Lab That Worked to Censor Conservatives” HERE)
Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.
