DeSantis Signs Provision Prohibiting State Agencies From Contracting With Media Censors

Florida’s FY 2026 budget includes a provision that prohibits state agencies from using taxpayer dollars to contract with advertising and marketing companies that act as or use “media reliability or bias monitors” services, like censorship group NewsGuard.

The measure, included in a budget bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday, “prevents state agencies from entering contracts with advertising agencies and marketing firms that use politically biased media monitoring services like NewsGuard, Ad Fontes,” and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), according to a press release from the Independent Media Council.

“These monitoring groups purport to be impartial, but consistently skew their ratings to target conservative and independent media from receiving advertising from major brands,” the release adds.

NewsGuard’s “Misinformation Fingerprints” technology was developed with the help of a $750,000 grant funded by the Department of Defense, as The Federalist’s Margot Cleveland reported. The group’s “False Claim Fingerprints” technology is currently marketed to social media, AI, and other tech companies to trace and flag “misinformation.” (Read more from “DeSantis Signs Provision Prohibiting State Agencies From Contracting With Media Censors” HERE)

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