The Biden Administration’s Department of Homeland Security is gearing up to establish another Disinformation Board —but prominent GOP voices are saying “not so fast.”
From Newsmax:
The board’s creation provoked criticism from conservative critics of Biden and skepticism from some experts, who said a government agency should not be responsible for tackling disinformation since the government is saddled with its own accusations of wrongdoing.
“Partisan government officials running a ‘disinformation board’ sounds ridiculous to people, but yet the Biden administration tried to control the speech of American citizens,” said Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who, along with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, are introducing legislation to ban DHS from pursuing a similar initiative.
“DHS should be focused on securing the border and preventing terrorist attacks, not fact-checking social media and censoring Americans,” Pfluger added.
DHS paused the board last May pending a “thorough review.” The agency said the panel was intended to advise the government on how to fight lies spread by, for example, foreign countries such as Russia or China, or human traffickers.
Jackson said DHS should focus its efforts elsewhere.
“Instead of censoring and controlling every aspect of the American public’s lives, DHS should focus on the crisis at the southern border,” Jackson told the Examiner. “I have faith in the American people to decipher knowledge for themselves. I do not have any faith in so-called disinformation experts from the Biden administration.”
Republicans Try to Thwart New Disinformation Board https://t.co/ZHBarq0WEG
— Joe (@JustPlainJoeRI) September 14, 2023