President Biden’s Department of Homeland Security set up a new “Disinformation Governance Board” that will be headed by a woman who spread disinformation about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
The dystopian-sounding board will have amongst its chief members Nina Jankowicz, who will serve as Executive Director.
Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, appearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the fiscal 2023 budget for the department Wednesday, testified on the creation of the board.
“The goal is to bring the resources of (DHS) together to address this threat (of misinformation),” Mayorkas said, specifically noting minority communities are typically a target of such campaigns.
Jankowicz announced her role to followers on Twitter, sharing a Politico article that mentioned her title and stating she is “honored to be serving in the Biden Administration” to help “shape our counter-disinformation efforts.”
Cat's out of the bag: here's what I've been up to the past two months, and why I've been a bit quiet on here.
Honored to be serving in the Biden Administration @DHSgov and helping shape our counter-disinformation efforts. https://t.co/uN20vl7qqV pic.twitter.com/JEn4FqLdck
— Nina Jankowicz 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@wiczipedia) April 27, 2022
It’s rather telling that the Disinformation Governance Board falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security which presumably deals with matters related to terrorism.
It’s telling, but not coincidental.
This past February, DHS issued a terrorism threat summary report focusing on people or organizations spreading “misinformation” designed to undermine trust in the government.
The “Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland” bulletin indicates the United States is in a “heightened threat environment,” in particular against ‘mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM)’ about election fraud and COVID.
So, a few of us are wondering, @DHSgov ...
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS? https://t.co/lxSloorM4W pic.twitter.com/6ZGcuTKn0F
— Ron Coleman (@RonColeman) February 8, 2022
The Department of Justice (DOJ), meanwhile, announced the formation of a unit to combat domestic terrorism just days after the anniversary of the 2021 riot at the Capitol.
The Biden domestic terrorism plan also seeks – perhaps chillingly – to control “misinformation” being shared on the internet and social media.
“The U.S. Government will also work to find ways to counter the polarization often fueled by disinformation, misinformation, and dangerous conspiracy theories online, supporting an information environment that fosters healthy democratic discourse,” a White House fact-sheet from June of 2021 reads.
Multiple agencies, multiple bulletins, and multiple departments working to combat ‘disinformation,’ a word used by the administration that has become synonymous with simple speech coming from political opponents.
President Biden has done more to combat so-called ‘misinformation’ than he has to address inflation, fix the economy, or even tackle actual terror threats at the border.
Here's my official portrait to grab your attention. Now that I've got it: a HUGE focus of our work, and indeed, one of the key reasons the Board was established, is to maintain the Dept's committment to protecting free speech, privacy, civil rights, & civil liberties. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/C4xiEGfhDt
— Nina Jankowicz 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@wiczipedia) April 27, 2022
If the administration were serious about cracking down on misinformation, they could start with their new Executive Director on the Disinformation Governance Board, Nina Jankowicz.
Jankowicz, on multiple occasions, spread disinformation concerning Hunter Biden’s laptop.
In October of 2020, rather than crack down on misinformation, she shared it, tweeting claims from the President that roughly 50 former national intelligence officials who tried running cover for Biden in the weeks leading up to the election by saying the laptop was a Russian smear campaign.”
Back on the "laptop from hell," apparently- Biden notes 50 former natsec officials and 5 former CIA heads that believe the laptop is a Russian influence op.
Trump says "Russia, Russia, Russia."
— Nina Jankowicz 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@wiczipedia) October 23, 2020
Jankowicz has defended the tweet saying she was simply relaying comments she heard during the presidential debate at the time in which Biden did, in fact, spread that false information.
"Here’s Biden saying the incriminating emails on Hunter’s laptop were just "a smear campaign" and “a bunch of garbage" pic.twitter.com/QKy8UfFjWQ"
— Republican Women of Mercer County 💪🇺🇦 🇺🇸 (@RWOMC) March 18, 2022
However, in an article with the Associated Press, the new head of the Disinformation Governance Board was quoted as saying the Hunter Biden laptop was “a Trump campaign product.”
The Biden administration's new Executive Director of the Disinformation Governance Board, Nina Jankowicz, cast doubt that the Hunter Biden laptop, confirmed to be real by multiple outlets, actually belonged to him.
She called it "a Trump campaign product."
@wiczipedia pic.twitter.com/AB6BqWiWuO
— Rusty Weiss 🇺🇸 (@rustyweiss74) April 27, 2022
The laptop has since been authenticated by several major media outlets including the New York Times and Washington Post.
Prior to that, Jankowicz warned that the election would be besieged by Trump supporters promoting “voter intimidation and violence.”
“These sorts of national-level calls for people to show up are a recipe, frankly, for intimidation and violence,” she said regarding efforts by the RNC and Trump to recruit poll watchers.
The DHS board will be headed by Nina Jankowicz, who once claimed militarized Trump supporters would show up to the polls with weapons to intimidate voters pic.twitter.com/GNfLdh4QHr
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) April 27, 2022
Vice versa, if Nina Jankowicz were serious about combatting misinformation in her new role with the Disinformation Governance Board, she wouldn’t have to look much further than the President himself.
Biden, in addition to calling the Hunter Biden laptop story a Russian smear campaign at the debates, made the ‘Russian disinformation’ claim well after the election, responding to a question from a reporter about whether he still believes the story to be a smear campaign despite all signs pointing to the contrary, “Yes, yes, yes.”
FLASHBACK:
Doocy: “Do you still think that the story from the fall about your son Hunter were Russian disinformation and a smear campaign like you said?”Biden: *walking away* “Yes, yes, yes. God love you, man. You're a one horse pony.”
pic.twitter.com/Pwr44ds0Mj— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) March 17, 2022
There’s plenty of other material Jankowicz could go after as well.
President Biden has made the false claim that five Capitol police officers were killed in the January 6, 2021 riots.
“Look, how would you feel if you saw crowds storm and break down the doors of the British Parliament, kill five cops, injure 145 — or the German Bundestag or the Italian Parliament?” Biden asked reporters. “I think you’d wonder.”
“Five cops” were not killed on January 6 during the Capitol riot. Zero cops were killed, yet some Democrats seem to keep repeating the false claim.
BIDEN: "How would you feel if you saw crowds storm and break down the doors of the British Parliament, kill five cops, injure 145, or the German Bundestag, or the Italian Parliament? I think you'd wonder. Well, that's what the rest of the world saw." pic.twitter.com/Ob3yBdFCId
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 2, 2022
Then of course there is the even more obvious example of disinformation spread by President Biden from the moment he began his election campaign right up until very recently – the Charlottesville hoax.
Just last month, he again repeated the false claim that his predecessor Donald Trump called neo-Nazis in Charlottesville “fine people” during a press conference at NATO headquarters.
It will always be funny to me when Biden says how Trump's "very fine people on both sides" line from Charlottesville was his inspiration to run for president.
The man literally began his presidential campaign on a lie. pic.twitter.com/hJlu8EDFCG
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 24, 2022
As PolitiFact points out, Biden leaves out the context of Trump explicitly saying, “And you had people — and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists — because they should be condemned totally.”
There you are, Nina. Three prominent examples of disinformation you can start combatting posthaste. Hunter’s laptop, January 6th, and Charlottesville. It’s a short list, but we don’t want to overwhelm you on your first day in your new role.
In reality, this Disinformation Governance Board isn’t about disinformation at all – it’s about cracking down on free speech. And Jankowicz is primed for the role.
In an interview with NPR last week, she relayed fears over “free speech absolutists” like Elon Musk taking over Twitter, a prospect which has since come to fruition.
Last week I told @NPRMichel: I shudder to think about if free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms, what that would look like for the marginalized communities…which are already shouldering…disproportionate amounts of this abuse.” https://t.co/GLqMwC3iYH
— Nina Jankowicz 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@wiczipedia) April 25, 2022
“I shudder to think about if free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms, what that would look like for the marginalized communities … which are already shouldering … disproportionate amounts of this abuse,” she said.
Isn’t it funny what makes the Biden administration ‘shudder’ – free speech – when the rest of America is shuddering at the prospect of a government takeover of information?