The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that a new Disinformation Governance Board has been created to coordinate efforts to counter information campaigns related to homeland security. It will reportedly focus on disinformation coming out of Russia as well as misinformation circulated by human smugglers that targets migrants hoping to cross the United States-Mexico border. The Board’s creation appears to be an attempt by the Biden Administration to deliver on a campaign promise to limit online misinformation and conspiracy theories ahead of the midterm elections. It will be led by disinformation and technology expert Nina Jankowicz who was previously a fellow for the Wilson Center, has been a Fulbright fellow, and worked for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in Kiev.
In a statement Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said, “The spread of disinformation can affect border security, Americans’ safety during disasters, and public trust in our democratic institutions.” Attention was brought to instances of smugglers spreading misinformation about American border policies in attempts to spur business, one case of which last September led to about 14,000 Haitian migrants showing up in Del Rio, Texas. The other focus, Russian disinformation, is notable because of the upcoming elections and the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has meddled in the last two presidential elections, although the extent to which is up for debate, and is waging a vast information campaign on top of their traditional warfare in Ukraine.
However, not everyone in Washington viewed the government’s announcement as rosy as they sought to portray it. Many critics, the majority of which are Republican politicians and include Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Troy Nehls, decried the Disinformation Governance Board as an Orwellian “Ministry of Truth.” Many outside the mainstream media also voiced skepticism, including Breaking Points Podcast host, Saagar Enjeti, and The Hill’s Rising host, Robby Soave. In an article for Reason, Robby Soave argues “…it is not the U.S. government’s responsibility to decide what is and is not misinformation,” adding, “the federal government has not shown itself to be particularly adept at identifying misinformation.”
Given the U.S. government and private corporations’ history of sometimes suppressing accurate information, more politicians and pundits across the ideological spectrum should be concerned. A similar outcry likely would have happened, and been completely justified, had former President Trump implemented this board in between posting false tweets. While the intended focus may have purportedly noble goals, deciphering misinformation and disinformation online is much easier said than done. Further, it should never be the government’s role to be the arbiter of truth. That role should be reserved to American news organizations and the population at large. A government agency tasked with surveying online arenas carries much too high a risk of violating citizen’s privacy and First Amendment rights.
The last two years have provided ample reasons for unified concern. The most notable examples of government and corporate collusion to quash stories have centered around the Hunter Biden laptop story and the COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis. And while these stories have turned into polarizing political stories, they should provide tremendous skepticism of the government creating a Disinformation Board when viewed from an objective, non-partisan perspective. In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, over 50 former intelligence officials signed an open letter claiming the disclosed emails had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Twitter subsequently prevented the sharing of a link to the New York Post’s Hunter Biden exposé and suspended their account, while Facebook reduced the article’s distribution. Facebook also censored so-called “false claims” that argued “COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured” up until May 26, 2021. Only recently has the lab-leak theory been allowed in polite society, and an in depth investigation by Vanity Fair claims there was an orchestrated campaign to cast doubt on the theory.
The fact that two major news stories with hugely important political implications have been tamped down through public and private collusion is concerning to say the least. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” to try and provide clarity about the Board’s objectives. Mayorkas said the Board will not have operational authority and will not monitor U.S. citizens, but will “gather together best practices…and disseminate those best practices to the operators that have been executing in addressing this threat for years.” The problem is that “experts” providing these best practices in the mainstream media and government have recently led to bad recommendations, resulting in the suppression of two stories now acknowledged as true, with the Hunter Biden laptop story, or carrying substantial credibility, in the case of the lab-leak theory.
The government’s job is to carry out the will of the people. This is formulated and expressed through the reporting, sharing, debating, debunking, and verifying of relevant information, which should happen outside the purview of government regulation. As we have seen, the government has proven itself unable to adequately provide guidance as to the veracity of multiple news stories in recent years. The creation of the Disinformation Governance Board appears to be an attempt to enhance these regulatory efforts. It also provides the capabilities for current and future administrations to wield unjust influence over public discourse, a reality which will likely be of more widespread scrutiny should Trump return to office.
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