Censorship by Cartel-and the ABC continues to spread the lies.

The Trusted News Initiative is merely the face of a deeper rot—one where journalism is no longer about holding power to account, but defending it. The ABC fails Australia.

If U.S. media can be held accountable for collusion and censorship, why not their counterparts here? Should the ABC not be investigated for its editorial uniformity and possible economic harm to dissenting Australian voices? Shouldn’t our regulatory bodies be questioned for mirroring a foreign censorship framework without democratic mandate?

Click the picture below to access the full article on the Children’s Health Defence site with references

Censorship by Cartel — The Trusted News Initiative and the Global Silencing of Truth

“When the powerful conspire to control what you see, hear, and believe, it ceases to be journalism. It becomes propaganda.”
— Anonymous journalist, silenced in 2021

In one of the most significant legal shifts in modern media history, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has thrown its weight behind the Children’s Health Defense (CHD) and a coalition of independent journalists in an antitrust lawsuit against one of the most opaque and dangerous media alliances ever constructed: the Trusted News Initiative (TNI). For those who have watched in horror as the COVID era unfolded not just as a public health crisis, but as a coordinated assault on scientific freedom, medical dissent, and free speech itself, this moment is vindication—long overdue.

The lawsuit accuses the TNI—a powerful consortium of legacy media and Big Tech platforms—of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act through a horizontal agreement to suppress alternative viewpoints. The coalition, whose members include Reuters, the BBC, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Google/YouTube, Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft, is alleged to have weaponised its reach to silence dissenting voices on topics ranging from COVID-19 origins and vaccine safety to early treatments and lockdown harms.

The DOJ's intervention has transformed this case from a hopeful rebellion into a potentially precedent-setting crusade. In a landmark statement of interest, Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater affirmed what many of us have long suspected: the TNI’s behaviour was not merely censorship—it was a coordinated economic assault on independent publishers. A cartel of information. A digital inquisition.

But this story does not stop at U.S. borders. The impact of the TNI’s collusion stretched far beyond the Atlantic. Here in Australia, the aftershocks were seismic. Our media environment—led by the ABC and reinforced by the commercial press—amplified the very same talking points, crushed alternative narratives, and gave unquestioning loyalty to the dictates of global authorities like the WHO. And though the ABC was never formally listed as a TNI member, its editorial behaviour throughout the pandemic was indistinguishable from those that were.

The question we must now ask is this: was Australia merely echoing the message? Or were we, too, part of the machinery of global information suppression?

The TNI: From Fact-Checking to Fact-Shaping

The Trusted News Initiative was launched in 2019 under the banner of "protecting democracy" and "combatting disinformation," initially around electoral integrity. But during COVID-19, its mission expanded rapidly and dangerously. Coordinating in real time, its member organisations established a system whereby dissenting narratives—whether true, partially true, or merely inconvenient—could be rapidly labelled as “misinformation” and buried beneath a flood of algorithmically boosted “trusted” content.

TNI members, nominally competitors in the media marketplace, formed what the DOJ now alleges was a “horizontal agreement”—the legal equivalent of a mafia pact—to carry out a group boycott of dissenting media. This included deplatforming, shadow-banning, demonetising, and algorithmically suppressing outlets such as The Gateway Pundit, TrialSite News, and Children’s Health Defense, along with individuals like Dr. Joseph Mercola, Ty and Charlene Bollinger, and journalist Ben Swann.

This was not a matter of editorial disagreement. It was industrial-scale censorship, coordinated by the world’s most powerful media brands and enforced by the digital platforms that control the modern public square-Big Dirty Media.

The DOJ’s statement cuts to the heart of this matter:

“Viewpoint diversity is essential to democracy... The Sherman Act protects competition in the marketplace of ideas.”

This simple but profound observation underscores a truth that has been eroded by years of media manipulation: freedom of speech and freedom of enterprise are inseparable. A marketplace without competition becomes a monopoly. A press without dissent becomes a Ministry of Truth.

Australia’s Place in the Machinery

The ABC, Australia’s publicly funded broadcaster, has long been celebrated as one of the nation’s most trusted institutions. During the pandemic, it basked in this reputation, offering itself as a calming voice amid the chaos. But behind the curtain, it participated in a global chorus—one that silenced critical thought, vilified medical dissenters, and enforced rigid orthodoxy.

Was the ABC a formal member of the TNI? No. But it didn’t need to be. Because the TNI was not merely a list of names—it was an echo chamber. Reuters, AFP, and other global wire services fed pre-approved stories into newsrooms across the world. Google and Facebook ensured that only aligned sources were promoted. Government authorities amplified these same messages through public health campaigns and emergency powers. Together, they created an environment where independent journalism could not survive—only conform.

Australia's media landscape, influenced by these forces, became an extension of the TNI consensus. The ABC, in particular, relied heavily on:

• TNI-linked wire services (Reuters, AFP) for international reporting

• WHO briefings and global health authority statements

• Content flagged or promoted by Big Tech algorithms

• Government-funded fact-checking partnerships

The result was not accidental—it was systemic. Australia's “most trusted voice” became indistinguishable from the TNI’s global messaging apparatus. Treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were mocked. Vaccine injuries were denied. Sunshine and vitamin D never existed. Scientists who raised concerns were smeared. The social licence to debate—so vital in science—was revoked in the name of “consensus.”

The Silencing of Nutritional Science: My CD Zinc Campaign

Among the many casualties of the Trusted News Initiative’s global clampdown on dissent was my own voice. As a physician and professor with decades of experience in nutritional and environmental medicine, I (Professor Ian Brighthope) publicly and persistently urged the Australian government, health authorities, and media outlets to consider an evidence-based prevention strategy using vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc—what I termed the CD Zinc campaign. The science supporting these nutrients was not speculative; it was grounded in decades of peer-reviewed research and clinical application. These nutrients are not fringe ideas—they are fundamental to immune health, infection resilience, and public disease prevention.

For a brief window in 2020, media reports emerged discussing the role of vitamin D in COVID-19 outcomes. A handful of researchers and journalists began raising the question: could these simple, affordable, and safe interventions help reduce hospitalisations and mortality? But then—as if coordinated—those discussions vanished. The media went silent. Editors no longer commissioned stories on vitamin D. Researchers were no longer quoted. My own public efforts, including articles, letters, and interviews, were quietly buried or ignored.

Worse still, in an act of raw censorship, I was deplatformed from LinkedIn, a supposedly professional network where medical practitioners once shared their views openly. There was no warning, no opportunity to appeal, and no explanation beyond vague references to “community guidelines.” My only offense was to advocate for well-documented nutrient protocols that could have saved lives and alleviated suffering. This was not just personal—it was symbolic. Even seasoned experts were now unwelcome if they questioned the orthodoxy. Nutritional science had become forbidden knowledge.

Regulatory Reinforcement

Meanwhile, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and health departments adopted a parallel approach. Using phrases like “harmful misinformation” and “trusted sources,” they mirrored the TNI’s narrative policing framework. ACMA encouraged tech platforms and media outlets to adopt guidelines that were functionally identical to those used by the TNI.

In 2021, DIGI (Digital Industry Group Inc.), representing Google, Facebook, and Twitter, adopted the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation—a document that codified censorship under the pretence of public safety. Though presented as a voluntary measure, it had chilling consequences: platforms adjusted their algorithms, advertisers withdrew from dissenting outlets, and publishers feared deplatforming.

These weren’t just bureaucratic exercises. They were part of a global alignment that suppressed inconvenient truths and punished medical transparency. The Trusted News Initiative had, without formal jurisdiction, managed to impose a foreign editorial regime on Australian soil.

The Price of Silence

What was lost during this period was not merely journalistic nuance—it was human life.

People died in silence, denied early treatment by a media machine that dismissed alternatives as “conspiracy theories.” Families were torn apart by mandates and fear, their choices shaped by a barrage of uniform messaging. Patients injured by vaccines were abandoned, unable to share their stories without being censored or gaslit.

Doctors and scientists who tried to speak up faced professional ruin. Their voices were erased, their reputations destroyed by institutions that once championed free inquiry. The TNI didn’t just distort facts. It destroyed the ecosystem where truth could emerge.

And here in Australia, the ABC stood by—not as a watchdog, but as a lapdog to global consensus. It refused to platform dissent. It celebrated mandates. It hosted panels that excluded critics. It glorified the “safety and efficacy” mantra even as data emerged showing breakthrough infections, myocarditis in young people, and the failure of public health interventions.

Now, as cancer rates soar, autoimmune disorders rise, and the psychological wounds of lockdowns remain unhealed, the media shifts once again—this time to distraction. Series like Four Corners are aired, exploring cancer epidemics without mentioning the unthinkable: could the very treatments and policies they championed be contributing to this wave of suffering?

A Moment of Reckoning

The DOJ’s support of the CHD antitrust lawsuit marks a turning point.

No longer is this just about “free speech” or “cancel culture.” It is about antitrust violations. Economic warfare.Monopolistic collusion in the marketplace of ideas.

The plaintiffs—doctors, publishers, and independent media—seek treble damages and a jury trial. But more importantly, they seek justice for the silencing of a generation of truth-tellers.

This case may well redefine the legal boundaries of press freedom, collusion, and the rights of citizens to challenge dominant narratives. And if successful, it will also raise the urgent question:

What about Australia?

If U.S. media can be held accountable for collusion and censorship, why not their counterparts here? Should the ABC not be investigated for its editorial uniformity and possible economic harm to dissenting Australian voices? Shouldn’t our regulatory bodies be questioned for mirroring a foreign censorship framework without democratic mandate?

Looking Forward: Reclaiming Our Media

Australia must confront this uncomfortable truth: our media is not independent. It is woven into a global apparatus that includes unaccountable bureaucracies, multinational tech firms, and ideologically aligned NGOs. The Trusted News Initiative is merely the face of a deeper rot—one where journalism is no longer about holding power to account, but defending it.

We need more than reform. We need a journalistic reformation. One that:

• Investigates the TNI’s indirect influence on Australian media

• Restores dissent as a democratic virtue

• Prioritises viewpoint diversity over conformity

• Exposes the funding and influence structures behind health messaging

• Holds public broadcasters to account for their editorial failures

And above all, we must never allow such coordinated censorship to occur again—whether in the name of “trust,” “safety,” or “public health.”

Final Word

The DOJ has lit the fuse. The TNI’s facade is cracking. And the world is beginning to understand the full scale of what was done—not just to media, but to medicine, democracy, and truth itself.

Now it is Australia’s turn.

Let us stand with those who were silenced. Let us investigate the collaborators. And let us restore the sacred space where citizens are free to speak, question, and think for themselves.

For without that freedom, there is no medicine. No science. No democracy.
Only obedience.

Ian Brighthope

For our childrens’s future please join and support The World Of Wellness and The Aligned Council of Australia.

Please consider Joining The WOW, The World Of Wellness International

And The Aligned Council Of Australia

Yours in good health

Ian Brighthope