08-02-2023, 03:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-02-2023, 03:02 PM by awakened53.)
Spy Agencies Were Involved in Controversial UK Counter Disinformation Unit Since Its Inception
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Read more: Spy Agencies Were Involved in Controversial UK Counter Disinformation Unit Since Its Inception
If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net.
During the pandemic, UK spy agencies ran roughshod over civil liberties by breaking the rules and expanding their surveillance activities. And now, new documents have linked these intelligence agencies to another controversial Covid-era project — the Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU).
The CDU was established in 2019 within the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and throughout Covid, it was used to surveil dissent and flag it for censorship. This year, the CDU has faced mounting pushback as the scale of its activities has been revealed.
The pushback became so great that the UK government published a fact sheet in June that tried to downplay concerns about the CDU and explain its origins. This fact sheet made no mention of UK intelligence agency involvement.
But recently released witness statements from Sam Lister, director-general for strategy and operations at the DCMS, and Susannah Storey, permanent secretary at the DCMS, have revealed that the CDU has been working with UK spy agencies since its formation in early 2019.
Read more: Spy Agencies Were Involved in Controversial UK Counter Disinformation Unit Since Its Inception