Thread by @mtaibbi

1. UK FILES EXTRA:
The Center for Countering Digital Hate, the IRS, and 501 (c)(3) status

2. The Center for Countering Digital Hate, or CCDH, is one of the most powerful players in the global "anti-disinformation" space, with a reputation for successfully pressuring Internet platforms to remove disfavored speech:

3. CCDH is currently being sued by this platform, X, which has accused it of manipulating X data to make it "appear as if X is overwhelmed by harmful content":

4. In March, 2021, CCDH's new US entity applied for tax-exempt status in the U.S., claiming it was a registered charity in the UK:

5. Later in April, 2021, an outside law firm engaged by CCDH sent the IRS a letter asking for expedited review, saying, "the Charity has the potential to receive significant funding contributions of various sizes”:

6. "WE'VE DETERMINED YOU'RE A PUBLIC CHARITY"

Soon after, on April 23, 2021, the IRS sent the CCDH the good news that it had been granted tax-exempt status:

7. The CCDH rarely misses an opportunity to underscore its 501 (c)(3) status. Look at its X page, for instance:
twitter.com/CCDHate?ref_sr…

8. When @CCDHate CEO Imran Ahmed gave a speech at the 2023 "Eradicating Hate" summit, he mentioned the group's 501 (c)(3) status in his opening sentences:

9. The only problem: the CCDH is not a registered charity in the UK.

Reporter Paul Holden was told by the UK Charity Commission the CCDH never applied for such status.

It's also not listed in the UK Charity Commission's public register: …of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search

10. The CCDH did not respond to requests for comment on this issue.

11. "LABOUR TOGETHER HELPED SET UP..." Labour Party documents also show CCDH was created under the auspices of Labour MP and Shadow Minister Steve Reed, using resources of the Labour Together think tank.

This is from a memo called “Steve’s record on fighting antisemitism.”

12. "STEVE DISCUSSED HIS WORK WITH... THE CENTRE FOR COUNTERING DIGITAL HATE..."

There are also minutes of a meeting between MP Reed, the Community Service Trust, and the Jewish Leadership Council:

13. Press outlets unfailingly refer to the group using neutral terms like “online hate watchdog," “anti-hate campaigners," “hate-speech watchdog," “anti-hate group," or even just “disinformation researchers," never mentioning its political affiliation.

14. Outlets reporting on CCDH’s high-profile takes on say, X, or @rustyrockets, or @RobertKennedyJr never bring up its ties to Labour, or note the coincidence that CCDH targets are invariably critics of centrist Labour policies.

15. The CCDH appeared often in #TwitterFiles documents. A typical scenario saw the company receive a query from a media outlet, asking why this or that account identified as hateful/bigoted/inaccurate by the CCDH had not yet been banned:

16. "THEY WANT JACK TO ANNOUNCE TOMORROW..." In another example, an outside PR firm gave Twitter the bad news that 12 state attorneys general were demanding immediate action from then-CEO Jack Dorsey on accounts identified as Covid misinformation sources.

17. Outlets ranging from @nytimes to @BBC to @guardian should tell readers the CCDH is a partisan political project, created by a think-tank tied to Labour centrist and current poll leader Sir Keir Starmer. Embarrassing also that none checked its charitable status before.

18. For the full story from Paul Holden, and more from the UK Files, check out this week. The story: Racket.News
racket.news/p/uk-files-exc…