The Biden Administration’s new “Disinformation Governance Board” has mostly attracted attention for the ridiculous Harry Potter/Mary Poppins superfan chosen to lead it. The janky lady in question is one Nina Jankowicz.
But amid all the justified outrage over the disinfo board’s existence, few people have drawn attention to its unusual issue portfolio.
In short, the Disinformation Governance Board’s chief purpose isn’t simply to suppress unwanted ideas in America, but specifically to assist in a crucial development: The transformation of DHS from the department that guards America’s borders into the department keeping them pried open at all costs.
Initial reporting about the “standing up” of the disinfo board suggested that it is being created with two subjects in mind. The first, no surprise, is Russia, the Fatherland of Lies and permanent bogeyman of the Beltway class. But the other, more particular focus of the board is the rather oddly termed “irregular migration”:
A newly formed Disinformation Governance Board announced Wednesday will immediately begin focusing on misinformation aimed at migrants, a problem that has helped to fuel sudden surges at the U.S. southern border in recent years. Human smugglers often spread misinformation around border policies to drum up business.
Last September, for example, confusion around President Joe Biden’s immigration policies combined with messages shared widely across the Haitian community on Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp platforms led some of the 14,000 migrants to the border town of Del Rio, Texas, where they set up camp. Some were ultimately expelled and were flown out of the U.S.
[AP]
The euphemism treadmill continues to run endlessly, so now illegal immigrants have become “irregular migrants” in the White House’s preferred parlance. They’re not even bothering with the phrase “undocumented immigration” anymore. Prior to about ten minutes ago, the term was essentially unheard of.
The Disinformation Governance Board is thus a bigger deal than even if it were “stood up” solely to reflect a 1984-esque desire to suppress badthink. The board is also the culmination of a 20-year transformation that has turned the Department of Homeland Security from an agency focused on foreign threats to one focused on the destruction of domestic political opposition.
