Staff Reports
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was stopping its Disinformation Governance Board, which was supposed to monitor “national security” threats online. President Joe Biden’s choice to oversee the group, called the “Ministry of Truth” by detractors, announced her resignation shortly after.
Dustin Volz of the Wall Street Journal corroborated a story first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday morning, claiming that DHS had put the kibosh on the newly formed board on Monday “amid internal disarray and concern about its future.” Nina Jankowicz, an author and “expert” on deception, resigned as the board’s executive director, according to Volz.
“With the Board’s work halted and its future uncertain, I have decided to leave DHS and return to public service,” Jankowicz stated, according to Volz. “It is profoundly disheartening that mischaracterizations of the Board have become a distraction from the Department’s critical job, and it exemplifies why it is required, especially in light of recent events worldwide and nationally.” I remain committed to raising awareness of the hazards posed by disinformation, and I am certain that the Department will do the same.”
According to one insider, the misinformation board was not intended to limit speech, but rather to safeguard it, according to the Post.
According to the Post’s source, DHS was to responsible for the board’s demise because it was unprepared to deal with so-called “disinformation efforts” from right-wing media. The publication claimed that conservatives were lying about the board, although conservatives have contended that the board’s goal was ambiguous enough that it might be used in tandem with Big Tech to restrict items deemed “national security concerns” by some gatekeepers, so infringing on free speech.
The board was also launched shortly after former President Barack Obama gave a speech in which he called on the federal government and corporate leaders to work together to battle disinformation about “national security threats.”
In late April of this year, Obama declared that “some democratic control” on the internet was necessary to safeguard democracies from disinformation.
“I believe we should utilise every tool at our disposal to ensure the long-term viability of our greatest gift – a government of, by, and for the people,” he continued.
Critics suspected the board would be utilized for that purpose.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Daily Wire.
