Department of Homeland Security shuts down disinformation board that drew fire from GOP
NBCDec 25, 2022
The Facts
On Wed., Alejandro Mayorkas, Sec. of the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), said that the Disinformation Governance Board - which generated controversy when it was first announced earlier this year - has officially been shut down.
In April, when the board was originally proposed, Mayorkas said its goal was to combat online disinformation and the alleged threat it posed. He added that it would focus in particular on the spread of disinformation in minority communities ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
The Spin
Left narrative
After an unrelenting barrage of harassment and abuse towards Jankowicz, in addition to a gross mischaracterization of what the board would've done, right-wing trolls succeeded in bringing the effort to a halt. The irony that this decision was a hasty reaction to a right-wing operation only underscores why such a board is needed in the first place.
Right narrative
Governments have no business declaring themselves the arbiters of truth, not least because they're not impartial entities and they have a consistent record of lying to the public across history and political parties. The creation of the Disinformation Board is reflective of what an authoritarian regime would do and it's a good thing that this unethical idea has been mothballed.
