Disinformation Governance Board

Nina Jankowicz, the former face of the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board, revealed to Congress that the Department of Homeland Security was intentionally opaque in the face of overwhelming criticism that led to the board’s collapse.

Jankowicz spoke to lawmakers during a deposition about the department’s internal decisions to address widespread concerns about the floundering board. The deposition took place last April, but after it was broached during a hearing this week, House Judiciary Committee members agreed to release a transcript of it on Friday.

As a direct result of multiple Washington Examiner reports, a State Department-backed nonprofit group is severing its financial relationship with a "disinformation" tracking organization that is secretly blacklisting and taking steps to shut down conservative media.

THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY is quietly broadening its efforts to curb speech it considers dangerous, an investigation by The Intercept has found. Years of internal DHS memos, emails, and documents — obtained via leaks and an ongoing lawsuit, as well as public documents — illustrate an expansive effort by the agency to influence tech platforms.

A handful of President Joe Biden's most important federal agencies are stepping up efforts to monitor and counteract "disinformation" on social media platforms, even in the face of criticism that the administration is attempting to silence conservative or opposing viewpoints.

Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created an internal board dedicated to combating misinformation and disinformation. Despite scrapping it after facing criticism, new reporting indicates that the agency is still pursuing the constitutionally dubious project.

The DHS announced the Disinformation Governance Board in April specifically to address Russian disinformation and false information spread by border traffickers. Nina Jankowicz, a Wilson Center fellow and "disinformation expert," was put in charge.

The Department of Homeland Security has terminated a government board formed earlier this year to combat online disinformation, after a range of critics said it could stifle free expression on the internet and had an unclear mission.

It encountered widespread criticism from conservatives, civil liberties advocates and some current and former officials.

They couldn’t handle the truth.

The Biden administration has “paused” its controversial plans to create a Disinformation Board, causing its would-be leader to resign. 

The Department of Homeland Security will pause the work of a controversial board to coordinate efforts to battle disinformation, saying that while its work was “grossly and intentionally mischaracterized” the “false attacks have become a significant distraction.”

Its leader, disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz, will also resign from the department.

Designed as a way to coordinate efforts across the department with disparate missions, the Disinformation Governance Board prompted attacks from Republicans and civil rights groups alike. 

On the morning of April 27, the Department of Homeland Security announced the creation of the first Disinformation Governance Board with the stated goal to “coordinate countering misinformation related to homeland security.” The Biden administration tapped Nina Jankowicz, a well-known figure in the field of fighting disinformation and extremism, as the board’s executive director.

Testifying in front of a House committee, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced DHS’s formation of a “Disinformation Governance Board.” The board’s stated mission would be to address “disinformation spread by foreign states such as Russia, China and Iran,” as well as “transnational criminal organizations and human-smuggling organizations.”