By Luke Wachob
What is the Biden administration thinking?
Creating a “Disinformation Governance Board”? Bad idea. Placing it inside the Department of Homeland Security? Bad idea. Choosing a leader who seems like they were designed in a lab to irritate anyone to the right of The New York Times editorial board? Probably, a very bad idea.
The feds can’t be surprised when Americans react with skepticism to a government campaign to counter “disinformation” about politically sensitive topics. The potential for abuse and propagandizing are obvious. And yet, it appears no steps were taken to try to assuage the inevitable concerns of critics. The rollout of the Disinformation Governance Board makes it look like everything you would fear it to be.
Any government body dedicated to combatting “disinformation” will set off alarm bells, of course. Even if undertaken with the best of intentions, such an initiative chills criticism of government and builds momentum for restricting free speech. For this reason, almost any effort by government to police truth in politics verges on an abuse of power.
To the extent there is a role for government agencies to play, it is in warning citizens about specific cases of foreign propaganda. The board’s rollout gives little confidence it will stay focused on that limited mission. It also appears wholly unconcerned with answering citizens’ well-founded fears about how such a board could chill or restrict political speech. The government’s failure to anticipate and engage with concerns is appalling.
Read the full story from the Institute for Free Speech
