U.S. Department of Homeland Security Expected to Launch a Disinformation Governance Board
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Updated
May 04, 2022
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The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security announced the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board, drawing comparisons to George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in his dystopian novel 1984.
Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, referred to the new board while he testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security last week, The Christian Post reports.
He said that Rob Silvers, undersecretary for policy, and Jennifer Daskal, principal deputy general counsel, would be leading the Disinformation Governance Board.
“The goal is to bring the resources of the department together to address this threat,” Mayorkas said.
The Department of Homeland Security has not officially announced the creation of the board, but Nina Jankowicz, who formerly worked as a “disinformation fellow” at the Wilson Center, confirmed on Twitter that she would be the executive director of the Disinformation Governance Board.
“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 (Department of Homeland Security) and helping shape our counter-disinformation efforts.”
Meanwhile, the news of the board has some critics pointing out the likeness between it and the Ministry of Truth, a fictional government organization in the book 1984.
“It purports to be focused on the pursuit of truth when, in fact, the ministry is concerned with erasing the truth of the past and the present and replacing it with whatever the Party deems ‘correct,’” the website Book Analysis said. “Those in charge of the ministry decide what ‘truth’ is.”
“The federal government has no business creating a Ministry of Truth,” said Sen. Tom Cotton on Twitter. “The Department of Homeland Security’s ‘Disinformation Board’ is unconstitutional and unAmerican, and I’ll be announcing a bill to defund it.”
In a letter to Mayorkas, Sen. Josh Hawley also said he was concerned the board was “unconstitutional.” He said it “should be dissolved immediately.”
The announcement of the board came just days after billionaire CEO Elon Musk successfully purchased Twitter with the goal of making it “the platform for free speech around the globe.”
Related:
Elon Musk Buys Twitter for $44 Billion
Photo courtesy: ©Trong Nguyen/Getty Images
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
