On Friday, The Gateway Pundit accurately reported that illegal immigrants are receiving free smartphones paid for by US taxpayers. The report was “fact checked” by Agence France-Presse (AFP). AFP is part of the “Trusted News Initiative” (“TNI”) which is currently being sued by Robert Kennedy Jr., and other plaintiffs, including Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit.
Brownsville, TX: Migrants open their DHS packets and use their government issued cell phones after being processed and receiving court dates.
Some migrants have shown me that their court dates are as far out as 2027.@TPostMillennial pic.twitter.com/Num7HnHagi
— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) May 12, 2023
TGP’s article shares that in 2022, the Biden regime reportedly issued over 300,000 smartphones to illegal aliens as part of the “Alternatives to Detention Program (ATD). According to ICE, smartphones cost taxpayers $361,218.08 per day, per ABC News.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claimed the phones’ facial recognition, GPS tracking, and voice-identifying features are used to keep track of new illegal immigrants while they wait for their court dates.
The New York Post reports that some illegal immigrants were given court dates set as late as 2032 and 2035 in Chicago and Florida.
But the “fact checkers” who do the bidding of the radical left aren’t having it. The article received a fact check by AFP Fact Check.
Though their own fact check states, “ An ICE spokesperson told AFP that while migrants do receive handsets in some cases, the devices only have one app that lets the agency track and inform them about court appearances.”
Their fact check confirms that migrants are receiving smart phones, which is what The Gateway Pundit reported.
The TGP article does not suggest what apps may or may not be on the phone, simply that they are being received at tax payer expense.
While the fact check suggests there is something erroneous in the story, they do not actually point to an incorrect or false statement, the only point to an omission they have decided needs to be included.
When requested by TGP to remove the fact check, AFP responded, “After reviewing the article in question, we have respectfully decided not to change the rating. While your story is correct in saying migrants receive handsets in some cases, it omits the fact that the devices only have one app and that individuals who already have smartphones can simply download SmartLINK.”
So, even though the story was correct, an outside agency based in another country and has its status under French law, is flagging posts of American outlets who “omit” details they decided should editorially be included.
This latest fact check provides an example of the danger presented by the unchecked power of The Trusted News Initiative.
The lawsuit filled in January is, a first-of-its-kind antitrust action against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Washington Post, Reuters, and Associated Press for damages totaling millions for the plaintiffs subject to trebling and seeks to address the boycott and censorship of health-freedom advocates, activists, journalists and medical professionals who dared to question the narrative relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine mandates.
The lawsuit reveals that by March 2020, a partnership was created called the Trusted News Initiative (TNI) between Big Tech and legacy media to exclude rival publishers from the dominant internet platforms. The partnership was launched by BBC Director-General Tony Hall, with the agreement that members of the TNI “work together to . . . ensure that disinformation myths are stopped in their tracks.” This coordinated effort is, by definition, a classic form of a “group boycott” to damage the ability of smaller publishers to compete or even survive.
Members of the TNI include legacy media outlets the BBC, The Washington Post, Reuters, and Associated Press, along with social media and tech giants—Twitter, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Microsoft, Google/YouTube, and LinkedIn. TNI members collectively hold 90% of the overall social media market, 90% share of the social networking market, 75% of the video hosting market, and over 90% of the search-engine market.
The complaint points to multiple examples of what plaintiffs state violates antitrust laws.
“By their own admission, members of the ‘Trusted News Initiative’ (‘TNI’) agreed to work together, and have in fact worked together, to exclude from the world’s dominant Internet platforms rival news publishers who engage in reporting that challenges and competes with TNI members’ reporting on certain issues relating to COVID-19 and U.S. politics.
The lawsuit alleges these outlets partnered with several Big Tech firms to “collectively censor online news,” including stories about COVID-19 and the 2020 U.S. presidential election that were not aligned with official narratives regarding those issues.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include CHD, Kennedy, Creative Destruction Media, Trial Site News, Ty and Charlene Bollinger (founders of The Truth About Cancer and The Truth About Vaccines), Erin Elizabeth Finn (publisher of Health Nut News), Jim Hoft (founder of The Gateway Pundit), Dr. Joseph Mercola and Ben Tapper, a chiropractor.
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