WASHINGTON — Newguard, the right arm of the far left’s tech censorship industry, was dealt an embarrassing blow this week when President Trump stripped one of the liberal “misinformation watchdog” company’s deep state intelligence operative’s security clearance.
While Newsguard insists that are not tied to former President Joe Biden’s unconstitutional campaign against free speech, their ties to the Biden administration and left-wing operatives are clear. According to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the company is under investigation for being at the very center of the “censorship cartel” employed by the Biden Adminstration.
Former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden and 49 other former intelligence officials have had their national security clearances revoked by President Donald Trump in an executive order issued Monday.
The decision targets officials who signed a 2020 letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as potential Russian disinformation, which Trump cited as an example of “abuses of public trust.” The revocation takes effect immediately, according to the order, which alleges the officials interfered in the 2020 election by attempting to discredit the story.
Hayden, a retired Air Force general who has served in prominent intelligence roles under multiple administrations, is also a member of the advisory board for NewsGuard, a media monitoring organization. He and the other signatories of the 2020 letter had argued that the Hunter Biden laptop report bore hallmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign.
The letter came under renewed scrutiny in January 2024, when the Justice Department confirmed the laptop did belong to Hunter Biden, contradicting initial speculation of foreign interference. Trump has repeatedly claimed the letter was part of an effort to influence the 2020 election against him.
It turned out the laptop was Hunter Biden’s, and according to Wikipedia, “In September 2023, Hunter Biden filed a civil lawsuit against Giuliani, his companies and attorney Robert Costello, alleging that they had spent years “hacking into, tampering with, manipulating, copying, disseminating, and generally obsessing over data that they were given that was taken or stolen from” his personal latpotop.”
NewsGuard advisory board members have long history of anti-Trump stances
Several members of the advisory board for NewsGuard, a media ratings organization that evaluates news outlets for trustworthiness, have a documented history of opposing former President Donald Trump. These individuals, hailing from backgrounds in media, politics, and corporate leadership, have consistently criticized Trump’s policies, rhetoric, and leadership style, positioning themselves as vocal adversaries of his administration.
Newsguard’s Strong Ties to the Anti-Trump Deep State
The NewsGuard advisory board includes high-profile media and business leaders who have publicly challenged Trump’s actions both during and after his presidency.
- Don Baer, former White House Communications Director for President Bill Clinton and ex-chairman of Burson, Cohn & Wolfe, has been a frequent critic of Trump. Baer has expressed concern about Trump’s divisive rhetoric and its role in shaping the political landscape, particularly in relation to public trust in media and institutions.
- John Battelle, co-founding editor of Wired magazine, has openly pushed back against Trump’s stance on media and technology. Battelle has criticized Trump’s repeated attacks on the press and his characterization of media outlets as “fake news.”
- Richard Stengel, former editor of Time magazine and Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy under President Barack Obama, has been one of Trump’s most vocal critics. Stengel has frequently decried Trump’s dissemination of misinformation and his antagonism toward the press, which he sees as undermining democracy.
Corporate leaders and political analysts among critics
Beyond media figures, corporate leaders and political commentators on the board have also expressed opposition to Trump’s presidency.
- Leo Hindery, Jr., a prominent business executive and former CEO of AT&T Broadband, has criticized Trump’s economic policies, particularly tax reforms he viewed as disproportionately benefiting the wealthy at the expense of middle- and lower-income Americans.
- Elise Jordan, a political analyst for NBC and former speechwriter for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has consistently condemned Trump’s foreign policy decisions and his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. Jordan has used her platform to highlight what she sees as Trump’s negative impact on the Republican Party.
- Jessica Lessin, founder and editor-in-chief of The Information, has challenged Trump’s rhetoric about the press, particularly his repeated claims that journalists are the “enemy of the people.” Lessin has been an advocate for independent journalism and a critic of Trump’s combative relationship with the media.
Newsguard CEO Stephen Brill authored a book, “The Death of the Truth”, which focuses a lot on President Trump in a critical light.
““]I think it’s a very dangerous time in America right now. I wanted to write the book because of what I’ve seen while working at NewsGuard: I’ve gotten a front-row seat to the not-so-gradual deterioration of belief in basic shared facts,” he said of his book.
“If any society doesn’t believe in the same set of facts and have a basic sense of confidence about them, then everything falls apart. Our system will not hold if everything becomes a matter of opinion,” Brill said.