Main Edition
US
FR
Following an explosive investigation into the Global Disinformation Index, viewed 8 million times on X/Twitter, UnHerd has been contacted by dozens of lawmakers and activists raising concerns about rating agencies like the GDI. In this update video, Freddie Sayers addresses a House of Lords committee on the chilling effect of censorship and makes a case to defund the ‘disinformation industry’.
You can watch the full video above.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribeReally, really interesting, and well done UnHerd and Freddie Sayers for bringing this into the light.
What struck me about the Lords session attended by Freddie, was the cluelessness on display by the great and the good about where the freedom of expression demarcations are, so to speak. For example, that snippet where Dido Harding parried back about the difficulties of distinguishing disformation from hostile nation states if free speech is deemed sacrosanct, was I thought telling. I have no idea if Dido Harding has any children, but if so I would be curious to know if they ever got tipped out with the bathwater when they were little. The primacy of free speech in the types of situations under discussion should not even be up for debate if you consider yourself a citizen of free nations. That it so patently is now under challenge, as the Covid years have so vividly demonstrated, is I feel a symptom of the fact that an overall lower quality of people are now entering the political arena and rising to the top. And if they are clueless now about how to protect free speech in the world of fast moving mass sentiment switches because of global digital social media, they are in for a real shock when soon enough, AI generated spoofing removes all possibility of being ever able to discern the true source or legitimacy of large tracts of any information at all.
Well done, Unherd.
You’ll have to keep the pressure on these organizations. My guess is the GDI isn’t responding to your reporting because it believes the negative publicity will blow over. And in the UK, there will soon be an election that’s almost guaranteed to be a Labour landslide. I’m guessing Labour will be more sympathetic to the politicized goals of organizations like the GDI.
Haha, way to miss the point Freddy. The DARPA, NSA, CIA, MI6, DODs, et all are the entire funders, and creators of these Orwellian Industries.
You went to the great Halls of the People of Britain, of Freedom – now fully taken over (Kenneth Grahamesk) by the Weasels.
Do you recall that scene in Wind in the Willows where Mole, Badger, Toad, and Ratty charge in the Stolen Great Palace the weasels have taken, and with cudgels leap among them and:::
”The Mighty Badger, his great cudgel whistling through the air”
”Mole, black and grim, brandishing his stick and shouting his awful war-cry, “A Mole! A Mole!”
”Rat, desperate and determined,”
”Toad frenzied with excitement, swollen to twice his size,”” emitting a Toad-whoop that chilled them to the marrow!”
”the panic-stricken weasels” ” broke and fled with squeals of terror and dismay, this way and that, through the windows, up the chimney, anywhere to get out of reach of those terrible sticks.”
This Freddy – is how you should have pressed your argument at the HOL. To take Cromwell –
”You have sat here too long for any good you have been doing lately … In the name of God go.””
But no, you tiptoed in your velvet slippers, more of W Booth’s style:
””Feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole””
at this meeting of the ‘Press and Government, and they pulled the full Lord Haw-Haw on you, and you bought it.
Come on Freddy – these goons are total Fas* ists, total Big Brother – they know full well all this Media Suppression; this complete attack on Free Speech and the Citizen, is From the Government. They know they are the source of it all.
They ask their silly questions, pet your ego, say how they are on your side – give you the old:
” Captain Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here”
Haha, and so are they all quite shocked that freedom of Speech is being stomped on by their huge, hob-nailed, boots. (as in that too grim Orwellian line)
So Unherd gave me a free month, haha, so I am back, Hi, all you sheep….
(pardon the Wind in the Willows bit – I just kept seeing it as they sat there in that classic, beautifull, room. Like they were interlopers and did not belong there. A/C ‘Dirty Deeds – Done Dirt Cheep’ would be their motto. All the Western Governments are weasels – Have you interviewed Bridgen yet?)
Whereas you would have sputtered and shouted, shutting the ears of all who don’t already look through a paranoid, good (us) vs. evil (them) lens like yours:
“Haha! Ye demented fools, know ye not that I am the self-appointed judge of all souls, the touched-in-the-head soothsaying pied piper lately released from a locked institution against the wishes of my persecutors? Ha ha, hee hee–ye wolf-hearted sheep!!”
In the tangled forest of your brain: Are non-Western governments free of Weasels?
Get some version of a grip dude.
Freddie, you’re the best journalist of our times. By Far! From your interviews with Sweden’s Anders Tegnell and his predecessor at the beginning of COVID-19, to today, your calm demeanor and polite but persistent interviewing style is simply the best. Bravo!
Excellent work Freddie, it appears the hard slog of the past 5 years is finally paying off.
Let’s have an open debate about the mRNA vaccines that Sunak who stood up in the HOC said were safe. It’s basic Science, these shots are not vaccines but Genetically Modified Organisms. How does a standard vaccine produce long stringy Amyloid plaques in your arteries and veins? It doesn’t.
These shots have the ability to alter your DNA. Why when we went for our jabs did the Nurse not inform me of what they really are? Probably because they were approved without going through proper procedure for GMO testing. Apparently AZ did go through this in Australia but the “vaccine” was stopped due to health issues.
If you want to look at disinformation, look no further than the Government and it’s Health agencies who are 86% funded by outside interests. This should be immediately be stopped and Government funded only.
It is hardly surprising there is distrust when eminent Professors such as Angus Dalgleish explains how dangerous the technology is but is ignored.
It’s way way way more complicated than that.
I have been following Freddie for years and it makes me so happy, and hopeful that Unherd have published him. Him and his ilk are but a handful of heroes daring to stand up to noxious swamp that is threatening us and that our government is too dim to see.
Fab
and impressive – and courageous, as good journalists are.
Thankyou
https://public.substack.com/p/uk-government-used-army-psyops-division
For consideration.
It gets complicated because Michael Shellenberger is involved with ARC, which I have written about on another article. Will edit and add when I have time.
I have liked Victoria’s comment with provisos. My reply to Victoria, Simon and AJ.
“I have been following Freddie for years and it makes me so happy, and hopeful that Unherd have published him. Him and his ilk are but a handful of heroes daring to stand up to noxious swamp that is threatening us and that our government is too dim to see.” Victoria
From the above link substack link.
“UK Government Used Army “PsyOps” Division To Monitor Citizens And Then Lied About ItBritish military officials also spread misinformation to the US, treated citizen-victims of their spying as foreigners, and considered embedding government censors within social media companies”
A guest post by Jake Hurfurt, Head of Research & Investigations, Big Brother Watch
Why a guest post?
The Public substack appears to have been founded by Michael Shellenberger
https://public.substack.com/
Freddie Sayers interviewed Michael Shellenberger. Please also see Westminster Declaration.
Importantly we are not all going to agree on Michael Shellenberger’s views on the Environment.
Both Paul Marshall and Michael Shellenberger are on the Advisory Board of ARC.
https://www.arcforum.com/advisory-board
In some circles both ARC and the World Economic Forum’s strategic intelligence are seen as two sides of the same coin so to speak.
Writers and readers and “founders” of UnHerd may or may not agree fully or in part with the views on this blog from New Zealand.
https://informedheart.substack.com/p/arc-legatum-and-fake-freedom-funds
Blog “Brit living in New Zealand. Educationalist and sociologist. This is a space for my personal musings about this dystopian era. Some publications may also be crossed-posted from other outlets.”
Please also see Westminster Declaration.
Anyone who has time please try and read the whole opinion piece…just a snippet in italics…but it needs to be read in context of the whole.
“I’ve written this summary about the source of funding for ARC and Legatum’s End Fund . Yes, it has direct links to the Clinton’s, Blair’s and Gates Foundations and (of course) the World Economic Forum, United Nations, World Health Organization and USAID. These are the same impact investments groups which profit from poverty. Corporate giants like eBay, PayPal, Palantir, Flourish (AI banking), First Look Media (Google News Initiative, (Fake) Fact Checkers NewsGuard, Democracy Fund (Omidyar)… the list goes on.”
A fact check? It is an opinion piece, but UnHerd want to test and restest and this would seem a prudent course of action as a next step. Prudent for whom?
In reply to Victoria, Simon, Marianne and AJ
Reservedly Happy
I find UnHerd refreshing and reservedly happy on the face of it, but don’t follow continually and have limited experience. I was happy to see a partial critique of the Conspiracy Guide sent to MPs and candidates. The Conspiracy Report was also covered elsewhere. I dip in and out and in the past only read UnHerd articles from time to time.
I am still on an “UnHerd” learning curve. I am a fan of Thomas Fazi, but don’t agree with everything he writes. Great to see Freddie at a Parliamentary meeting about free speech. However, I have recently tried to comment on some related articles trying to get discussion pushed further out of the box, both to satisfy my own curiosity and to get feed back from others.
It was a “relief” to read UnHerd’s misson statement as I discovered their founder is a controversial character in some circles, as is Michael Shellenberger (and I will try and come back to this, in other comments). I have been having IT problems getting comments posted. I spent several hours on a comment (trying to get discussion pushed further out of the box) and it disappeared.
.Importantly:
“We seek out thinkers who can bring the broader wisdom of history, philosophy, science and religious thought to bear on the current moment. We try to give a platform to the overlooked, the downtrodden and the traduced; and to people and places that the world has chosen to forget.” UnHerd.
More importantly: “We have no allegiance to any political party or tradition. Our writers often disagree with each other. Our approach is to test and retest assumptions, without fear or favour.”
https://unherd.com/about-unherd/
More on Paul Marshall
2017 and things have moved on https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/welcome-to-the-herd-unherd/
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/legatum-who-are-brexiteers-favourite-think-tank-and-who-is-behind-them/
“Legatum has received funding from British Brexit backers including major City figures. In 2015, prominent pro-Brexit hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall bankrolled a 12-month research programme entitled ‘A Vision for Capitalism’. The programme was run by Conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie and launched by then chancellor George Osborne. Montgomerie is now editor of UnHerd, a website backed by Marshall.” 2017
“Our Government is to dim to see” Victoria
I think it’s far more complicated. There is plenty to digest, there are layers and layers to explore and some will be out of bounds, layers that go round in circles and often too time consuming/difficult for one individual brain to comprehend. UnHerd is great but there are layers and layers of thought and readers and writers won’t all understand or “agree” with each layer and with each other….didn’t explain this very well LOL….layers I don’t understand.
So it’s great UnHerd have said it’s OK not to agree and I see fun and games ahead with the Westminster Declaration as again the blurb states that its supporters do not all agree with each other.
Onwards and Upwards! Keep testing and retesting, writers and readers.
Hoping Freddie Sayers sees this.
Much to digest….impossible to digest?
Big Brother Watch Board members….blockchain, Institute of Economic Affairs…UN..Open Rights Group. Big Brother Watch. Michael Shellenburger guest post. Hedge fund Managers big soup?
Jake Hurfurt Big Brother Watchhttps://public.substack.com/p/uk-government-used-army-psyops-division
Nothing is black and white?
One commentator….
https://informedheart.substack.com/p/arc-legatum-and-fake-freedom-funds
“….The Censorship Industrial Complex, Omidyar and Freedom FundHere, the subtext is another way that this totalitarianism is imploding in on itself. Albeit not quite so obvious to the man-in-the-street. Journalist Michael Shellenberger, who is central to the release of the Twitter Files and coined the term Censorship Industrial Complex (pdf of his legal testimony) in a massive US Court battle, has joined the Board of a company which is funded by the same Omidyar Group that is the Censorship Industrial Complex. (See pg14 of his hyperlinked testimony above). How can this be? Let me explain….”
I hope some at UnHerd is able to understand and unravel (slowly but we are running out of time?) the seemingly never ending strands.
…….
Alison McDowell
“Jordan Peterson includes references to editing the UN Sustainability document with Balsillie on his own web site in the biography section – see the link. In this clip he says he removed the “ideological claptrap.” Balsillie is one of the wealthiest people in Canada and has set up a center for government innovation in partnership with INET, the organization that helped launch the social impact economy. His partner at Blackberry funded centers for theoretical physics and quantum computing in Waterloo, Ontario. Peterson is now setting up some international organization* in London of all places to create an alternative future. I have a lot of questions.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDZ-WTp3MCE
*UnHerd connected because of Paul Marshall Michael Shellenberger, Westminster Declaration etc. ARC. Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.
Hopefully UnHerd can unravel. Possibly UnHerd need to work with other individuals and alternative media with disagreeing viewpoints. Test and Retest.
Hello Freddie, please take a look below at the organisations involved with the UK’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF). Regarding the next IGF meeting in November, I wrote and asked if disinformation can be included as a topic also mentioning how it feels to have legitimate posts removed from facebook. Please note the deadline to submit topics for the November 2024 UK Internet Governance Forum meeting. Do the Open Rights Group have the capacity to cover various issues, for example scientific disagreement and censorship?
Academia
I found this Report helpful in throwing light on ideas that are rarely given any thought. From New Zealand but there are parallels.
https://psgr.org.nz/component/jdownloads/send/1-root/106-23-propaganda
Part of the Report’s conclusion:
“…Innovation may be central to our largest challenges, but it is the stewardship of innovation that is the key issue. Resilient, healthy democracies require governance systems with the capabilities and intelligence to produce, analyse and communicate challenging, contradictory and politically inconvenient information. But with corporate ‘market’ science meshed through policy, when do technocratic, authoritarian administrative cultures formally transition to totalitarian regimes?…”
Suggested citation. PSGR (2023) When does science become propaganda? What does this suggest for democracy? Bruning, J.R., Physicians & Scientists for Global Responsibility New Zealand. ISBN 978-0-473-68632-1
From the IGF website:
A key distinguishing feature of IGFs is that they are based on the multi-stakeholder model – all sectors of society meet as equals to exchange ideas and discuss best practices. The purpose of IGFs is to facilitate a common understanding of how to maximise the opportunities of the internet whilst mitigating the risks and challenges that the internet presents.
Committee MembersThe UK IGF has a steering committee and secretariat. The secretariat is provided by Nominet, the UK’s national domain name registry. The steering committee members are:
Nigel Hickson, DCMSChristian de Larrinaga, ISOC EnglandDavid Souter, International ICT and Development ExpertDesiree Miloshevic, ISOC EnglandGabrielle Guillemin, METAAdam Peake, ICANNJim Killock, Open Rights GroupLouise Bennett, British Computer Society and Digital Policy AllianceGordon Mackay, Access PartnershipMatthew McDermott , Access PartnershipMike Tunks, IWFNick Wenban-Smith, NominetOlivier MJ Crepin-Leblond, ISOC EnglandDani Dhiman, Tech UKNeil Ross, Tech UKSheetal Kumar, Global Partners DigitalChris Disspain, Identity DigitalIsabella Wilkinson, Chatham House
UK Internet Governance Forum website
https://ukigf.org.uk/committee/
Examples of posts that have been removed/individuals being monitored by AI facebook or otherwise.
Posts about deregulation
https://beyond-gm.org/eu-votes-to-deregulate-gene-editing/
Posts about Palantir and the NHS
This has to stop.
Noting:
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport was replaced by Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Department for Culture, Media and Sport
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fact-sheet-on-the-cdu-and-rru
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Works with 16 agencies and public bodies
Executive agencyBuilding Digital UKIntellectual Property OfficeMet OfficeUK Space AgencyExecutive non-departmental public bodyAdvanced Research and Invention AgencyInformation Commissioner’s OfficeUK Research and InnovationTribunalCopyright TribunalPublic corporationNational Physical LaboratoryOrdnance SurveyOtherBritish Technology Investments LtdGovernment Office for ScienceOfcomPhone-paid Services AuthorityRegulatory Horizons CouncilUK Shared Business Services Ltd
Meryl Nass in the United States, commented in her latest update yesterday on the World Health Organisation:
I have left another comment in this thread about the UK’s Internet Governance Forum and censorship.
https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/igf-2024
UK INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUMA partnership that provides a local forum in debate on Internet Governance issueshttps://ukigf.org.uk/
https://ukigf.org.uk/events/uk-igf-2024/
Were it not for the brave handful of Freddie Sayers types informing us of stuff like GDI, I’d be just a mole scratching along obliviously in my dark little tunnel. How much more do we not know? How much less will we discover in future if the thought police triumph?