Government efforts to squelch purported misinformation and disinformation on the most contested subjects in American politics don’t stop with Cabinet-level agencies.
The National Science Foundation has awarded at least $39 million in grants and contracts in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 for projects that target misinformation or disinformation, frequently pertaining to COVID-19 and elections.
Two contracts went to anti-misinformation groups for journalists. Hacks/Hackers received $3.7 million with the potential for $2 million more for “expert-informed resources … to address vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.”
Meedan received a $3.2 million contract with the potential for $2.5 million more to develop “fact-checker” and “community collaboration tools” for “combating hate, abuse, and misinformation with minority led partnerships.” It also received a $256,000 grant for “identifying and countering misinformation on closed messaging platforms (COVID-19).”Both received $5 million grants in the new fiscal year from NSF’s Convergence Accelerator , which “builds upon basic research and discovery to […]
Excerpt Sourced From: justthenews.com