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Disinformation Governance Board

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DHS Disinformation Governance Board
Board overview
Formed2022
JurisdictionUnited States
HeadquartersDHS Nebraska Avenue Complex, Washington, D.C.
Board executive
Parent departmentDepartment of Homeland Security
Websitewww.dhs.gov

The Disinformation Governance Board, an advisory board of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was announced on April 27, 2022. The Board's function is to protect national security by disseminating guidance to DHS agencies on combating foreign misinformation and disinformation. Specific problem areas mentioned include false information propagated by human smugglers encouraging migrants to surge to the Mexico–United States border, as well as Russian-state disinformation on election interference and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2]

Background

The Disinformation Governance Board was announced by the DHS on April 27, 2022, during a 2023 budget hearing before the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.[1] The board had begun operating two months prior to the announcement, and the DHS had made the decision to form the board in 2021 after conducting research which recommended forming a group to "review questions of privacy and civil liberty for online content".[2] White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the board is the "continuation of work that began in the DHS in 2020 under former President Trump".[3] The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has previously addressed the spread of what they referred to as "mis-, dis-, and malinformation".[4]

Nina Jankowicz in 2019

After the board was formed, Nina Jankowicz was named executive director. She was previously a fellow at the Wilson Center, advised the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as part of the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, oversaw Russia and Belarus programs at the National Democratic Institute, and wrote the book How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict.[5][6][7] Robert P. Silvers and Jennifer Daskal were also named to hold leadership positions on the board.[5]

Function

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security, stated that the board would have no operational authority or capability but would collect best practices for dissemination to DHS organizations already tasked with defending against disinformation threats,[8] and asserted the board would not monitor American citizens.[9] John Cohen, the former acting head of the intelligence branch of the DHS, said that the board would study policy questions, best practices, and academic research on disinformation, and then submit guidance to the DHS secretary on how different DHS agencies should conduct analysis of online content.[2]

On May 2, 2022, the DHS released a statement which said that the board would monitor disinformation spread by "foreign states such as Russia, China, and Iran" and "transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling organizations", and disinformation spread during natural disasters (listing as an example misinformation spread about the safety of drinking water during Hurricane Sandy). The DHS added that "The Department is deeply committed to doing all of its work in a way that protects Americans' freedom of speech, civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy."[2][10]

Reception

Republican lawmakers and pundits criticized the board after its formation, with some calling for it to be disbanded. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) opined that "Homeland Security has decided to make policing Americans' speech its top priority".[1] Some critics, including Florida governor Ron DeSantis[11] and former Democratic representative for Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard, likened the board to the Ministry of Truth, a fictional governmental department in George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984.[4][8]

Jankowicz's appointment to the board was criticized by Republicans, including for her past support of Democrats and her skepticism of the provenance of Hunter Biden's laptop; Jankowicz had previously said that "we should view [the laptop] as a Trump campaign product".[4] The Washington Examiner levied criticism against Jankowicz due to her praise of Christopher Steele (author of the Steele dossier, which the Examiner deemed "discredited") for his views on disinformation during an August 2020 podcast.[12]

Writing for National Review, Jim Geraghty noted the board's potential to dispel information disseminated by human smugglers on the southern border, as well as monitoring messages from terrorist and extremist groups, but objected to Jankowicz's appointment.[4][13] In a press conference, Jen Psaki defended Jankowicz's appointment to the board, stating that Jankowicz is "an expert on online disinformation... this is a person with extensive qualifications".[14][15]

DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas later acknowledged his department could have done a better job of communicating the purpose of the new board, but asserted the Republican criticisms were "precisely the opposite" of what it would do. He stated that the board would have no operational authority or capability and would not monitor American citizens.[9] On 3 May 2022, Mayorkas appeared before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security to respond to criticism the board received from Republican lawmakers. He vowed to work on building greater public trust in the board, and said that "The Department of Homeland Security is not going to be the truth police. That is the farthest thing from the truth. We protect the security of the homeland."[16][17]

See also

  • Global Engagement Center – State Department program to counter foreign propaganda that threatens U.S. national security interests

References

  1. ^ a b c Seitz, Amanda (April 28, 2022). "Disinformation board to tackle Russia, migrant smugglers". Associated Press. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Myers, Steven Lee; Kanno-Youngs, Zolan (May 2, 2022). "Partisan Fight Breaks Out Over New Disinformation Board". The New York Times. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Willis, Haisten (April 29, 2022). "DHS disinformation board is continuation of Trump effort, White House says". Washington Examiner. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Blake, Aaron (April 29, 2022). "The tempest over DHS's Disinformation Governance Board". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Bridget (April 27, 2022). "DHS Standing Up Disinformation Governance Board Led by Information Warfare Expert". Homeland Security Today. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  6. ^ "Nina Jankowicz". wilsoncenter.org. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Daniels, Eugene; Bade, Rachael; Lizza, Ryan (April 27, 2022). "POLITICO Playbook: Fauci pulls out of WHCD. Is Biden next?". Politico. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Hooper, Kelly (May 1, 2022). "Mayorkas cites misinformation about Homeland Security's disinformation board". Politico. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Mayorkas: Disinformation board won't monitor American citizens. CNN. May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Fact Sheet: DHS Internal Working Group Protects Free Speech and Other Fundamental Rights When Addressing Disinformation That Threatens the Security of the United States". dhs.gov. United States Department of Homeland Security. May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Getahun, Hannah (April 30, 2022). "DeSantis calls DHS Disinformation Governance Board a 'belated April Fool's joke'". Business Insider. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  12. ^ Dunleavy, Jerry (April 28, 2022). "Biden 'disinformation' chief a Trump dossier author fan and Hunter Biden laptop doubter". Washington Examiner. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  13. ^ Geraghty, Jim (April 28, 2022). "Are You Ready for the DHS 'Disinformation Governance Board'?". National Review. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  14. ^ Sunnucks, Mike (April 29, 2022). "Ministry of Truth or needed social media watchdog? Biden's Disinformation Governance Board". Herald and News. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  15. ^ "Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 29, 2022". whitehouse.gov. White House. April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  16. ^ Owen, Quinn; Barr, Luke (May 6, 2022). "DHS plays defense over Disinformation Governance Board". ABC News. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  17. ^ Garver, Rob (May 5, 2022). "US Homeland Security's 'Disinformation Governance Board' Assailed by Lawmakers". Voice of America. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
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