WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – A panel for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated Monday evening that there is “no need” for the Disinformation Governance Board, dubbed by critics as the “Ministry of Truth.”
The memo, from the Disinformation Best Practices and Safeguards Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), states: “We have now had briefings on the relevant disinformation-related activities of the Department.”
We are not ready, as of yet, to provide recommendations on the Department’s most effective approach to disinformation threats, including commitments to increase transparency and protect civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.”
“However, at this point, we have concluded that there is no need for a Disinformation Governance Board,” the memo concluded. The panel is set to deliver a draft report on its findings in August.
Members of the panel were chosen by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In a statement made to the Epoch Times, a DHS spokesperson said “Secretary Mayorkas will meet with the Chairs of this HSAC subcommittee to discuss their recommendation and looks forward to their more comprehensive final report and recommendations regarding the work overall, which are expected to be delivered in August.”
Republicans have reacted positively to the memo. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri tweeted “DHS decides today there was no need for its unconstitutional Disinformation Board after all.”
DHS decides today there was no need for its unconstitutional Disinformation Board after all pic.twitter.com/O1hjIywch2
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 18, 2022
The Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee welcomed the news, saying that “From its initially botched rollout, the ‘Ministry of Truth’ lacked a defined mission or even direction. It was clear it was a political tool to be wielded by the party in control.”
Mayorkas announced the formation of the Disinformation Governance Board in April and selected Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation fellow from the Wilson Center. Jankowicz has been criticized for her stance on free speech.
Shortly before the formation of the Board, she appeared on NPR, telling host Michel Martin that “I shudder to think about if free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms, what that would look like for the marginalized communities,” complaining that “marginalized” groups are “already shouldering … disproportionate amounts of this abuse.”
She has also dismissed Hunter Biden’s laptop as misinformation, telling the New York Daily News in October 2020 that “we should view it as a Trump campaign product.” She failed to recant her statement following the verification of the laptop’s contents by the Washington Post in March, and the following month restated her belief that the laptop was misinformation.
Critics of the Board voiced concerns that it could pose a threat to Constitutional rights such as the freedom of speech and religion, dubbing the Board the “Ministry of Truth” almost immediately, in reference to George Orwell’s 1984.
LifeSite’s Jonathan Van Maren also pointed out that the assessment of “disinformation” should not be entrusted to an administration that “tells us a man is a woman,” referencing Richard “Rachel” Levine, a gender confused man serving as the first “transgender” assistant U.S. Secretary of Health.
The DHS maintained that the board would have no “operational authority or capability” and that the department was “deeply committed to doing all of its work in a way that protects Americans’ freedom of speech, civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.” The DHS also stated that the board was “grossly and intentionally mischaracterized” and it was not about censorship or policing speech, maintaining that it was intended to subvert foreign threats.
The DHS paused the formation of the Board in May following the severe backlash it received. The DHS said that a review of the Board conducted by an advisory council would determine its future.