Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the last word on his disinformation governance boards on Wednesday after an independent review that he requested came back with the firm conclusion that it was a sham.
The board was on pause since May when Mayorkas stopped after an erroneous rollout. Critics accused him of Orwellian efforts to silence those with opposing views.
Mr. Mayorkas claimed that this wasn’t his objective. The secretary was fatally hurt by Nina Jankowicz’s selection to head the board. She had a history spreading dodgy info and revelations about the board trying to coordinate with large tech companies.
After his Homeland Security Advisory Council voted to disapprove of the board idea on Wednesday, Mr. Mayorkas hammered the last nail.
“The HSAC has recommended that Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas terminate the Disinformation Governance Board. The Disinformation Governance Board was dissolved today.
The advisory council stated that Homeland Security should have a part in fighting misinformation but should also build upon what it already does.
The council was led by Michael Chertoff (a former Homeland Security Secretary in the Bush Administration) and Jamie Gorelick (a former deputy attorney General in the Clinton Administration), who said that a board was not necessary to accomplish those goals. They also suggested that the department may be drifting too far away from their mission.
” They don’t possess a red pen to fix everything that isn’t true,” said Mr. Chertoff as they presented their final report to Ms. Gorelick to the advisory board.
They said that the department must take action to counter information that could affect Homeland Security’s core missions. They gave two examples: when migrants are lured to America by smugglers, Customs and Border Protection should stop that message. When people falsely claim they have received emergency assistance during a natural disaster, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should correct it.
They said the word “disinformation” often sparks intense reactions, but Mr. Chertoff said “it was our sense that the actual work of the department has been exaggerated, and the real work is extremely straightforward.”
He said that Ms. Gorelick and the department must follow the basic principles of communication, using plain language to communicate what they are doing and explaining to the general public the “importance of truth .”
The report also called on the legal departments to be more involved in the activities of agencies to ensure civil liberties are respected.
Mr. Mayorkas stated that this was the main goal in creating the disinformation board.
