In recent times, the once-glowing reputation of the misinformation industry has dimmed. Many experts who claimed to combat misinformation have themselves been caught spreading falsehoods or revealed to have ties to intelligence agencies. This revelation shouldn’t be surprising.
It’s a common tactic in politics and propaganda to accuse others of the very deeds they plan to carry out.
Back in late 2018, leaked documents revealed a secretive project by Democratic Party members. They falsely accused Republican candidate Roy Moore of having Russian support during his Senate campaign in Alabama. This scheme gained national attention by linking Moore’s campaign to numerous Russian-linked Twitter accounts.
The leaked documents pointed to a little-known company called New Knowledge as being involved in the disinformation campaign. However, New Knowledge’s CEO, Jonathon Morgan, denied the company’s participation, stating he worked on the project independently. Despite this, New Knowledge repeatedly found itself in the media spotlight.
In early 2023, journalist Matt Taibbi uncovered concerning information about “Hamilton 68,” a public dashboard created by New Knowledge to track supposed pro-Russian propaganda on Twitter. However, internal emails from a former Twitter executive raised doubts about the accuracy of the dashboard, revealing it was producing disinformation rather than tracking it.
Despite being discredited, stories from major media outlets based on the Hamilton 68 dashboard’s findings accusing conservatives of spreading Russian disinformation persisted. However, internal investigations by Twitter found these claims to be unfounded.
Further scrutiny revealed that New Knowledge had received funding from the Center for American Progress, a think tank aligned with the Democratic Party, to develop Hamilton 68. Betsy Dupuis, a former employee of New Knowledge, shared her concerns about the company’s involvement in creating disinformation after witnessing discussions about the “Alabama Project,” which she suspected was related to Roy Moore’s campaign.
Dupuis, who was eventually fired for voicing her concerns, disclosed internal documents and messages to substantiate her claims. She highlighted the involvement of former NSA employees at New Knowledge and their methods of circumventing laws against government surveillance by outsourcing to private companies.
Despite numerous attempts to reach Jonathon Morgan for comment, he remained unavailable. Dupuis, now speaking out from Austin, emphasizes the importance of breaking the silence to reveal the truth about the creation of disinformation during a crucial American election.
References:
https://disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/whistleblower-insider-details-how
https://x.com/thackerpd/status/1785643864017051868
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