National Defense

Biden Admin Grants More Funds To Disinformation Researcher Who Celebrated Censorship Of Hunter Laptop Story

President Joe Biden’s administration has awarded two grants to a company run by a disinformation researcher who praised Twitter for censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story, according to public government contracts.

Lisa Kaplan, CEO of LCK Strategies, also known as Alethea, praised the decision to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story and said it was found to be factually inaccurate. The Department of Defense (DOD) awarded a second grant to LCK Strategies for combatting “disinformation” in May, the Washington Free Beacon first reported.

It was a “good move” for Twitter to prohibit people from even posting links to the story, Kaplan tweeted on Oct. 14, 2020.

“I do applaud Twitter’s efforts and the stances they have taken to address disinformation, making it so that people can’t share a link known to be false that could have potential implications on the election,” Kaplan said, according to an Oct. 15 Voice of America article. “It’s an important step if they are truly going to be a source of accurate information for their users.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed the story on Oct. 29, 2020.

The most recent grant for LCK Strategies was over $72,000 for a “software tool to proactively respond to global disinformation campaigns,” according to the contract.

The DOD previously awarded a grant to the company providing nearly $50,000 for an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for combatting both disinformation and misinformation in November 2021, according to another contract.

Aletha’s AI solution dubbed Artemis “delivers unrivaled intelligence on disinformation networks,” according to its website. “Its real-time insights allow our customers time to protect key assets from risk and potential damage due to disinformation, misinformation, and social media manipulation.”

Alethea, the DOD and the White House did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.