How To Sue The Federal Government and Win

In this episode of The Ben Shapiro Show, host Ben Shapiro details The Daily Wire's landmark legal victory against the U.S. State Department over its funding of organizations that engaged in coordinated censorship of conservative media outlets. The lawsuit, filed in December 2023, challenged the State Department’s use of the Global Engagement Center to indirectly suppress free speech by providing data to groups like NewsGuard, GDI, and DisinfoCloud, which in turn influenced advertisers and social media platforms to deplatform or demonetize conservative voices. After years of what Shapiro describes as 'backdoor censorship,' the Trump administration (2025) settled the case, dismantling the Global Engagement Center and imposing strict new obligations on the State Department: no more funding of censorship efforts, annual First Amendment training, and yearly certification of compliance. Shapiro frames this as a critical defense of the First Amendment, arguing that government-backed censorship—especially when outsourced to private entities—undermines the very foundation of free expression. He emphasizes that the victory was not about financial compensation but about holding the government accountable and restoring constitutional principles. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to support The Daily Wire to continue its mission of uncensored journalism.