Governments Are Beginning to Resist ‘Disinformation Index’
2nd May 2024
British MPs have raised concerns about the fact that the government is funding a disinformation ratings agency called the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which compiles a “dynamic exclusion list”—or ‘blocklist’—of publications that publish perfectly lawful conservative and/or ‘gender critical’ content that it deems ‘harmful,’ and then gives that list to advertisers with the aim of persuading them not to advertise on those sites. Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, is reportedly among a group of around ten MPs who are concerned about the prospect of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) continuing to fund the British-based company after it was accused of warning advertisers away from a mainstream UK news and commentary website.