Cotton calls for Congress to ban any future attempts at Orwellian disinformation boards

(Video: Fox News)

Senator Tom Cotton, R -Ark., wants a complete and total ban on any and all future government disinformation boards, as the fledgling Disinformation Governance Board was put on “pause” Wednesday.

Executive director Nina Jankowicz stepped down from the board, though it’s not entirely clear if the project has been scrapped. Cotton, however, wants to put a definitive end to the idea of government-controlled disinformation boards so they can’t keep rising back up like a cheesy horror movie villain.

During an appearance on Fox News’ “America Reports,” Cotton expressed his relief at what appears the be the imminent dissolution of the board but thinks further steps need to be taken.

“I’m glad to know the Orwellian Ministry of Truth is paused for the moment, but important to realize that it’s only paused because the American people found out about it,” he explained to host John Roberts. “The government has no business refereeing disputes engaged in political campaigns or public debates. If you don’t like someone else’s speech, the answer is more speech.”

“I think the Democrats often believe that disinformation and misinformation are simply facts that reflect poorly on Joe Biden and the Democratic Party,” he suggested. “It’s good they finally came to their senses and paused this board, but Congress needs to act in the weeks ahead to make sure nothing like it can be created in the future.”

When Roberts quoted an article from the Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz, which accused the political right of coordinating a campaign of hate against Jankowicz and the disinformation board, Cotton dismissed her accusations out of hand.

“Yeah, I don’t know who that reporter is, but she seems as excitable and unhinged as Nina Jankowicz did,” Cotton jabbed. “Not only should we not have a ministry of truth like this board, but shouldn’t have a woman like that purporting to referee debates among the American people. There was no coordinated right-wing internet campaign or anything else. What you had were millions of Americans who saw the same set of ominous facts and their elected representatives here in Washington and the country recoiling from the idea the Department of Homeland Security, with all its law enforcement and national security powers, might be refereeing  political debates in the public sphere.”

“It’s not coordination or a campaign, that’s the citizens of a free country guarding their freedoms,” he concluded.

Sierra Marlee

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