Podcast Summary: "How To Sue The Federal Government and Win"

The Ben Shapiro Show • April 3, 2026
Host: Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire)
Guests/Co-hosts: Michael Knowles, Matt Walsh

Main Theme

This episode centers on The Daily Wire’s recent legal victory against the U.S. State Department—a “landmark” First Amendment case challenging government efforts to censor conservative media. Ben Shapiro and his colleagues break down how they sued, why it mattered, and the implications for free speech going forward.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Background: Government-Funded Censorship (01:17–03:49)

Summary:
Ben Shapiro outlines how the Biden administration’s State Department, particularly through its Global Engagement Center (GEC), directed funds to organizations including Park Capital Investment Group and News Guard. These groups labeled conservative outlets as "disinformation," influencing advertisers to blacklist them and social media platforms to deplatform or deprioritize them.
Key Points:
- GEC was created (2016) to combat foreign disinformation but shifted to targeting domestic, often conservative, speech.
- Companies like News Guard and GDI developed “blacklists” affecting ad revenue and reach.
- Social media giants were encouraged to act on these lists, massively increasing enforcement against outlets like the Daily Wire.
Notable Quote:
“The State Department cannot fund censorship of Americans, full stop. Equally important, it must prove to us every year, regardless of who the President is, that it is complying.”
—Ben Shapiro [02:46]

2. The Lawsuit and Its Legal Context (03:50–06:30)

Summary:
The team describes filing suit (with the Federalist) in December 2023, outlining how the State Department’s actions violated precedent: the government may not outsource censorship to private entities.
Key Points:
- The government cannot pressure private companies to suppress speech—it’s still a First Amendment violation.
- Daily Wire saw a 1,000% increase in YouTube “content enforcements” in two years.
- Many censored or demonetized statements were factual or standard political commentary (e.g., gender and crime statistics).
Notable Quote:
“There's only two kinds of speech. There's free speech and there's speech determined by the powerful, because the weak don't have the power to censor speech.”
—Matt Walsh [05:39]

3. The Scope and Mechanisms of Censorship (04:22–06:30)

Summary:
Specifics about which organizations were involved, how blacklists worked, and the role of international groups (e.g., GDI).
Key Points:
- Disinfo Cloud (2018–2021) and GDI (funded with $300,000) compiled blacklists for advertisers.
- These “disinformation” ratings strongly impacted conservative outlets’ income.
- GARM set global standards for advertisers, pushing demonetization for a broad range of content.
Notable Quote:
“Basic facts were very often being censored as insensitive or as harmful.”
—Ben Shapiro [06:30]

4. Why the Legal Win Matters (08:19–10:05)

Summary:
The hosts discuss philosophical foundations: the law teaches society, and only by challenging overreach can conservatives (or any minority) preserve rights.
Key Points:
- It’s not just about politics being downstream of culture—law shapes behavior.
- The victory compels the government to acknowledge their wrongdoing and changes future policy in a significant way.
- The relief was injunctive (to stop behavior), not financial.
Notable Quotes:
- “When the law incentivizes a behavior, you get more of that behavior. When a law punishes a behavior, you get less of that behavior.”
  —Michael Knowles [08:19]
- “To win against the government is not an easy thing. They've got all the cards, they've got all the power... and this is saying, no. There's something here that goes beyond the government of the moment that was violated.”
  —Matt Walsh [09:27]

5. The Settlement and Its Requirements (08:57–10:45)

Summary:
Under the new administration (Trump/Rubio, 2025), the State Department settled, agreeing to shut down the GEC and cease funding censorship proxies.
Key Points:
- State Department can no longer fund or use outsourced censorship, including via technology or foreign/outside NGOs.
- They must conduct annual First Amendment trainings and provide yearly compliance certifications directly to the plaintiffs.
Notable Quote:
“The State Department now has to disarm. They have to stop funding NGOs, foreign governments, and other organizations that seek to censor Americans domestically... [and] has to prove to us every year... they have, in fact, upheld the consequences of this judgment.”
—Michael Knowles [10:05]

6. The Larger Importance of Free Speech (10:45–11:59)

Summary:
Matt Walsh reflects on the cultural and creative importance of free expression, particularly for artists.
Key Points:
- Free speech is core not only to politics but to the development and sharing of culture, art, and knowledge.
- Suppressing speech would doom future generations to ignorance and repeated rediscovery.
Notable Quote:
“To silence art, then each generation has to rediscover what the meaning and experience of being human is—it would be an absolute disaster.”
—Matt Walsh [11:34]

7. Looking Ahead (11:59–end)

Summary:
The episode closes with Shapiro emphasizing vigilance: this battle is part of a larger, ongoing fight for free speech. The Daily Wire calls for continued support to keep covering stories “the media won’t touch.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:46 | Ben Shapiro | “The State Department cannot fund censorship of Americans, full stop.”| | 05:39 | Matt Walsh | “There's only two kinds of speech. There's free speech and there's speech determined by the powerful…” | | 08:19 | Michael Knowles| “When the law incentivizes a behavior, you get more of that behavior. When a law punishes a behavior, you get less of that behavior.”| | 09:27 | Matt Walsh | “To win against the government is not an easy thing. They've got all the cards, they've got all the power…”| | 10:05 | Michael Knowles| “The State Department now has to disarm. They have to stop funding NGOs, foreign governments, and other organizations that seek to censor Americans domestically.” | | 11:34 | Matt Walsh | “To silence art, then each generation has to rediscover what the meaning and experience of being human is—it would be an absolute disaster.” |

Timeline of Key Segments

01:17–03:49: Background on State Department and anti-conservative censorship strategies.
03:49–06:30: The nature and scope of suppression; legal principles involved.
08:19–10:05: Why the lawsuit mattered (“law is a teacher”); summary of injunctive relief.
08:57–10:45: Details of the settlement and future State Department obligations.
10:45–11:59: Philosophical discussion on the irreplaceable value of free speech, especially in the arts.
11:59+: Call to continue the fight and support uncensored reporting.

Tone and Style

Direct, urgent, principled: The hosts’ language is brisk, no-nonsense, and rooted in constitutional values.
Defiant and optimistic: The team portrays their victory as both deeply significant and a springboard for ongoing activism.
Philosophical: They offer not just analysis but normative claims about freedom’s role in American life and culture.

Summary Takeaways

The Daily Wire’s lawsuit stopped the State Department from funding or indirectly outsourcing censorship of U.S. citizens.
The victory led to new governmental obligations for transparency, compliance, and First Amendment training.
Hosts frame this not only as a legal win, but as a critical culture war battle over the future of free speech and American values.
The team urges vigilance and continued supporter engagement to keep defending and reporting on free expression.