The billionaire claimed that the company was operating a “whole rip-off” in plain sight
A subsidiary of Reuters has obtained tens of millions in US authorities funding for “massive scale social deception” initiatives, Elon Musk, the top of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), has claimed.
In a submit on Thursday, Musk weighed in on knowledge from the web site USAspending.gov stating that Thomson Reuters Particular Providers LLC, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters, had contracts with authorities businesses.
One of many publicly accessible paperwork stipulated that the US Division of Protection had dedicated greater than $9 million on two initiatives known as Energetic Social Engineering Protection (ASED) and Massive Scale Social Deception (LSD).
Commenting on the doc, Musk wrote: “Reuters was paid tens of millions of {dollars} by the US authorities for ‘massive scale social deception’. That’s actually what it says on the acquisition order! They’re a complete rip-off. Simply wow.”
Based on the Pentagon’s Protection Superior Analysis Initiatives Company, the ASEAD program goals to develop automated defenses in opposition to social engineering assaults, which might contain misleading techniques to control people into divulging confidential info. Neither the Pentagon nor USAspending.gov elaborates on the aim of this system, however each LSD and ASEAD are listed as actions inside the realm of engineering and analysis and improvement.
Reuters was awarded one other Pentagon contract that gives the Division of Protection with unidentified superior improvement companies. The company has additionally obtained round $500,000 from the State Division for entry to information companies.
Each Musk and US President Donald Trump have vowed to combat corruption and wasteful spending within the US authorities. In mild of this, a number of federal businesses have terminated contracts totaling $8 million with Politico journal following Musk’s criticism of those agreements as a “wasteful” use of taxpayer funds.
Trump has additionally instructed that billions of {dollars} have been misappropriated inside businesses such because the US Company for Worldwide Growth (USAID), Washington’s main company for funding political initiatives overseas, to pay for favorable media protection of Democrats. The declare was rejected by a number of US media retailers, together with Politico and the Related Press.
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