This week, a prominent far-right activist acknowledged – in the conservative Daily Caller, a Tucker Carlson media outlet – that the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA) would result in a windfall for conservative media outlets and prevent Google and Meta from moderating disinformation posted to their sites. 

Mike Davis, a right-wing activist who helped shepherd the Supreme Court nominations of Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, responded to a study published by Chamber of Progress showing that some of the CJPA’s biggest beneficiaries would be national conservative media outlets known for spreading disinformation. 

Davis told the Daily Caller that the CJPA will fund conservative media and prevent tech platforms from taking down far-right content, saying, “conservative publications and independent journalists are the most likely to be victims of censorship from the gatekeepers at Big Tech, and the CJPA would take a sledgehammer to that power by making them finally pay conservative outlets.”

Also among the CJPA defenders highlighted in the Daily Caller are the American Principles Project, an anti-transgender conservative group that has published advisories warning against travel to California because of its laws protecting LGBTQ individuals. 

Chamber of Progress’s analysis of the CJPA estimates that Fox News would make 643 times as much money as California newspapers, 151 times as much as Latino news outlets and 844 times as much money as Black California news outlets under the legislation. During floor debate over the CJPA last week, California Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner highlighted those concerns, asking the bill sponsor, “What prevents this fund from actually funding misinformation just as well as it funds the San Diego Union Tribune?”

“Supporting local news is important, but it should give California Democrats serious pause to see MAGA activists praising the bill for bringing a windfall to right-wing media,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “This bill’s biggest beneficiaries aren’t struggling newspapers – it’s national outlets known for spreading disinformation.”

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.