Republicans are raising the alarm following newly published documents that showed how the Department of Homeland Security still works with Big Tech to combat misinformation on social media, despite the dissolution of its controversial governance boards earlier in the year.
The documents, which were first reported by The Intercept Monday morning, showed that while DHS is disbanded its “Disinformation Governance Board” in May, the agency is still working to combat disinformation on a range of topics, including COVID-19, vaccines, racial issues, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Ukraine aid.
According to a draft copy of its Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, the DHS’ capstone strategy document, the agency intends to target disinformation on topics such as “the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, racial justice, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the nature of U.S. support to Ukraine,” The Intercept reported.
The document also reportedly confirms that tackling disinformation and misinformation spread online by “domestic violent extremists” is becoming one of the DHS’ top priorities behind counterterrorism.
DISINFORMATION PUSH SHOWS DHS ‘POLITICIZING’ ITSELF, SAY TOP HOMELAND SECURITY REPUBLICANS
Alejandro Mayorkas is the Homeland Security Secretary and testifies before this Senate.
(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
DISINFORMATION PUSH SHOWS DHS ‘POLITICIZING’ ITSELF, SAYS TOP HOMELAND SECURITY REPUBLICAN
The Intercept also published a leaked document showing Facebook’s secured Government Reporting System, which allows government officials to directly flag content on Facebook or Instagram and request that it be taken down.
The federal government’s crackdown on disinformation began in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump signed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Act, which created a sub-agency of the DHS tasked with strengthening U.S. cybersecurity.
CISA under President Biden reportedly increased its efforts for disinformation by creating a Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation (MDM).It will be tackled by a team.
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The CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (which includes Vijaya Gadde who was formerly Twitter’s legal counsel) drafted a report that The Intercept published. It called for CISA monitoring “social media platforms all sizes, mainstream media and cable news, hyper partisan and talk radio” and to counter information that weakens “key democratic institution, such the courts or by other sectors like the financial system or public health.
Gadde made headlines last week after she was fired from Twitter upon Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company.
During an April 2022 House Hearing, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies.
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana).
Eric Schmitt, Missouri Attorney General, and Republican Senate Candidat, filed a lawsuit in May alleging that the federal government “colludes” with Big Tech to suppress freedom of speech. Schmitt announced Oct. 21 that the judge who ruled in the case granted permission for Dr. Anthony Fauci (ex-White House press secretary Jen Psaki), director of White House Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty’s, Surgeon General Vivek Morthy, CISA Direct Jen Easterly, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Elvis Chan to be deposed.
Fox News Digital was informed by Schmitt that his office will continue to pursue the lawsuit, and even depose federal officials.
“Our landmark lawsuit against the Biden administration for allegedly colluding with social media companies to censor freedom of speech has uncovered a vast ‘censorship enterprise,’” he said. “We plan to depose key Biden administration officials, and will continue to work to expose the federal government’s efforts to censor free speech.”
After being elected Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt addresses an election-night gathering, Schmitt won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
(Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), the most prominent Republican lawmaker on this issue House Homeland Security CommitteeOn Tuesday, he accused the DHS in further “politicizing itself” for the sake of dispelling “disinformation.”
“Reports of DHS’s involvement in efforts to be the arbiter of truth on wide-ranging topics are extremely concerning,” Katko said. “This is not DHS’s role, as evidenced by the fierce backlash against and ultimate disbanding of the Disinformation Governance Boardearlier in the year. Simply put: The American people do not approve of the department engaging in unclear, unaccountable and opaque efforts led by the Biden administration’s ever-changing definition of ‘truth.’”
“It is unfathomable to me how severely misplaced the Department of Homeland Security’s priorities continue to be,” Katko continued. “When the border crisis is reaching record-breaking levels daily, cyber-attacks from adversaries are threatening to cripple our critical infrastructure, the rise in violent crime is putting Americans across the country in danger, and disrupted supply chains are having devastating impacts on Americans, DHS cannot seem to let go of the desire to police Americans’ free speech.”
Rep. John Katko addresses journalists during a congressional delegation visit in El Paso, Texas on March 15, 2021.
(Justin Hamel/AFP)
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R-Mo. Sen. Josh Hawley also called on the government to take action in response to the report.
“What’s really disinformation is that the Biden administration believes in democracy, because here’s what they think – if you will do what they tell you to do, and believe what they tell you to believe and vote the way they want, then they’re for it. They will monitor you if they don’t like your ideas or your opinions, and then they will censor them, and then they will use government against you,” he said during “Jesse Watters Primitive.”
“That is a threat to our democracy, and we’ve got to do something about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, House Democrats push for to create a new senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who would monitor and respond to public “misinformation” about abortion access and other reproductive and sexual health services.
Rep. Nikema Williams, D.Ga., along with four other Democrats, would create a new “reproductive & sexual health” official at HHS. This would include the task of policing “misinformation” on abortion.
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The official would “collect information regarding, and to address, reproductive and sexual health misinformation being disseminated to the public,” according to the bill text.
“The term ‘reproductive and sexual health misinformation’ includes any information relating to reproductive and sexual health that is not evidence based or medically accurate, including inaccuracy in the provision of any related services,” the language continues.
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The proposed reproductive and sexual health HHS official would do more than fight “misinformation” about abortion and would also act as an advocate for abortion access from a top position inside one of the federal government’s largest agencies.
Fox News’ Peter Kasperowicz and Kelly Laco contributed to this report.
