If the timing behind President Biden introducing the Department of Homeland Security’s 1984-ish Disinformation Governance Board didn’t stand out already, coming after Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a successful bid to take over Twitter, the person tapped to run what many are calling the Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” certainly opened a few eyes.
“The spread of disinformation can affect border security, Americans’ safety during disasters, and public trust in our democratic institutions,” DHS said in a statement Wednesday.
Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, will head the agency and White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about some of her previous actions Thursday at the White House press briefing, and she was perplexed over who would oppose alleged government-imposed censorship.
“There’s been some criticism of the person who’s been chosen to oversee this board. She had previously called the Hunter Biden laptop a ‘Trump campaign product,’ seeming to discredit its validity — or validity of reporting surrounding that,” a reporter said, before asking. “How can you assuage concerns of people looking at this person who’s been appointed to this position and wondering if she’s going to be able to accurately judge misinformation now that a lot of that reporting has been proven to be factual in some ways?
“Well, I don’t have any comments on the laptop,” Psaki said, adding, “But what I can tell you is that it sounds like the objective of the board is to prevent disinformation and misinformation from traveling around the country in a range of communities. I’m not sure who opposes that effort.”
As for Jankowicz, the president’s spokesperson said, “I don’t know who this individual is, so I have no comments on it specifically.”
“Her name is Nina Jankowicz,” the reporter informed Psaki. “She also just recently made some polarizing comments about the Twitter — Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase. It’s just getting some pushback from critics who are saying this person may not be the right choice for a board that is run by the Department of Homeland Security. Can you speak to that at all?
Again, Psaki played dumb, saying: “I don’t have any information about this individual. I can check on more information about the board.”
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
Every single person who values free speech opposes the government effort to ‘prevent disinformation & misinformation’ as defined by government bureaucrats. This is _exactly_ the censorship that the First Amendment was intended to prevent.
— Geoffrey Miller (@primalpoly) April 28, 2022
Would she oppose the effort if Trump takes office in 2024 and gets to appoint the board?
— Blake (@blake_stakes) April 28, 2022
It’s terrifying to me that the DNC will have such power. It’s also terrifying, and should be terrifying to them that the RNC will, very likely, have the same power in the next two years.
— Sorry T. Offend (@SorryToOffend87) April 28, 2022
When the “truth” keepers are the sources of misinformation, then everyone should oppose it. The answer to misinformation is more information, not less.
— Sassy Q (@SassyQ15074358) April 28, 2022
First Amendment is literally the exact opposite of this.
— Geoff Wilson (@GeoffWi39631322) April 28, 2022
“I’m not sure who opposes censorship” https://t.co/cMLFb2TR3M
— Learning to code (@jtLOL) April 28, 2022
Literally every sane person who understands the 1st Amendment. The answer to “misinformation” is more information, not less, ya fascists. https://t.co/7QHgYuLTYh
— Kira (@RealKiraDavis) April 28, 2022
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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