Mayorkas on New Disinformation Board: ‘We Could Have Done a Better Job of Communicating What it Is and What it Isn’t’
Panel will not monitor American citizens, DHS chief says
In a spate of interviews over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sought to address the firestorm of criticism which has erupted on the political right over the existence of a new board dedicated to fighting disinformation.
Republican politicians and others on the political right — including within right-wing media — have been hammering the Biden administration over the panel, which right-wingers have dubbed the “Ministry of Truth,” in reference to a part of author George Orwell's dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-four which was published in 1949.
Mayorkas, himself, brought to light existence of the Disinformation Governance Board last week in congressional testimony.
He also defended the official at the head of the new board, Nina Jankowicz, who also has become a lightning rod for slings and arrows from the right-wing despite being an expert in disinformation and having been a fellow at the highly regarded Wilson Center in Washington DC.
“So, we've set up essentially an internal working group. And I must say that we could have done a better job in communicating what it is and what it isn't,” Mayorkas said in an interview on the NBC News program, Meet The Press. “It's a working group that takes best practices with respect to our work that has been going on for years, best practices on how to do that work, the work of addressing disinformation that presents a threat to the security of our country, how to do that work in a way that does not infringe on free speech, does not infringe on civil liberties.
“So, this working group takes best practices and disseminates those best practices to the operators,” the secretary added.
Neither the board, nor the Department of Homeland Security, somehow spies on the American people, Mayorkas said, in a separate interview Sunday on CNN.
“We in the Department of Homeland Security don't monitor American citizens,” confirming that the new board won't change that.
“No, no, no, the board does not have any operational authority or capability. What it will do is gather together best practices in addressing the threat of disinformation from foreign state adversaries, from the cartels, and disseminate those best practices to the operators that have been executing in addressing this threat for years,” Mayorkas said.
And, in yet another separate interview — this one on Fox News — Mayorkas defended Jankowicz as the official in charge.
“By the way, [she is] highly regarded as a subject matter expert and I don’t question her objectivity. There are people in the department who have a diverse range of views and they are incredibly dedicated to mission,” he said. “We are not the opinion police. She has testified before Congress a number of times, but she is recognized as a tremendous authority and we are very fortunate to have her.”
Do you find this post of value?
Please consider supporting our work by joining our Patreon for as little as $5…