Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that Florida “reject[s]” the Department of Homeland Security’s new board targeting misinformation.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday the development of the Disinformation Governance Board to counter the spread of misinformation and disinformation across the country, particularly on false information coming from Russia and misleading rhetoric regarding the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I honestly thought this was just a belated April Fools joke, but they are actually going to create in Department of Homeland Security a bureau of disinformation,” the governor began. “It’s basically a Ministry of Truth, and what they want to do is they want to be able to put out false narratives without people being able to speak out and fight back. They want to be able to say things like ‘Russia collusion’ and perpetuate hoaxes and then have people like us be silenced.”
“They want to be able to advocate for COVID lockdowns, they want to be able to advocate for school closures, things that are not supported by the evidence,” he argued. “But then when you speak out, they want to stifle dissent, and so we reject this bureau in the state of Florida.” (RELATED: ‘I Don’t Have Any Information’: Fox News Reporter Presses Psaki On Biden’s New Minister Of Truth Being Biased)
The Biden Administration’s creation of a “disinformation” bureau within DHS is effectively a Ministry of Truth that is alien to our constitutional tradition.
Florida rejects Biden’s attempt to enforce regime-approved narratives and to stifle dissent. pic.twitter.com/fSnU2gk97x
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 29, 2022
The Biden administration appointed Nina Jankowicz, a global fellow at the Wilson Center, to serve as the board’s executive director. She previously attempted to cast doubt on reports about Hunter Biden’s laptop and claimed Republicans funded the now-discredited Steele dossier.
Elon Musk called the new board “discomforting” Thursday in response to a tweet from comedian and political commentator Steven Crowder comparing the disinformation board to the Nazis. The announcement of the development of the Disinformation Governance Board followed Musk’s over $40 billion buyout of Twitter and his vows to protect free speech on the platform.
“The government is creating a misinformation governance board,” Crowder said. “Who else did something like that? Oh I remember, the Nazis. And there’s some data showing some interesting things going on post-@elonmusk’s Twitter takeover!”
“Discomforting,” Musk replied in Twitter.
Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson demanded a list of answers on the board in a Wednesday letter to the Department of Homeland Security, questioning how the board defines misinformation and which specific actions it intends to take to counter mis- and disinformation.