If I had a dollar for every reference of Orwell’s 1984 made over the past couple years, I’d have enough to fill a Dollar Tree cart, even with the increased prices. These days 1984 memes and references are quickly becoming cliché, which is mostly the fault of the Biden Administration and other swamp monsters… I mean, politicians.
And they’ve done it again, folks. Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) just rolled out a new “working group” within its department called the “Disinformation Governance Board.” But don’t worry, it’s not what you think. It’s worse.
Yep, that’s really how they’re trying to sell it to the American people. They say it’s nothing new since U.S. Customs and Border Protection has used disinformation efforts like the “Say No to the Coyote” campaign, which informed would be immigrants “that entering the United States illegally is a crime.” Oddly enough, the current administration didn’t get that memo.
It should go without saying that we should deter human smugglers from their criminal and often inhuman actions, acts of terrorism should not be tolerated, and our elections should be free from foreign tampering. And it should also go without saying that creating a new government entity with “disinformation” in the title isn’t going to solve these problems because that term smacks of partisan gaslighting, which is exactly what its proponents do.
Let’s dig deeper into this Disinformation Governance Board.
What is the Disinformation Governance Board?
According to the DHS, the Disinformation Governance Board is a new group tasked with rooting out and combating disinformation, as its name suggests. The way the Biden Administration talks about it makes it seem like this new board is designed to target disinformation from and to foreign sources concerning issues of national security. It is, after all, housed in the DHS.
But even this official statement from DHS doesn’t limit or clearly define the scope of the newly minted Disinformation Governance Board:
Disinformation, which is false information that is deliberately spread with the intent to deceive or mislead, can take many forms. When it comes to DHS’s work, the Department is focused on disinformation that threatens the security of the American people, including disinformation spread by foreign states such as Russia, China, and Iran, or other adversaries such as transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling organizations. Such malicious actors often spread disinformation to exploit vulnerable individuals and the American public, including during national emergencies.
The first noteworthy thing about this statement is that disinformation is intentionally deceptive. I don’t know about you, but I’m not all that excited about the government trying to decipher my or anyone else’s intentions. Depending on whom you ask in Washington, D.C., Putin is everything from a conniving mastermind to the dullest crayon in the pencil box. But as we know with the FISA court system, the burden of proof for government agencies tends to be low, so I’m sure they’ll be able to attach whatever motive they need to in order to go after alleged sources of “disinformation.”
Next, notice that DHS said “including disinformation spread by foreign states…. or other adversaries…” That leaves things wide open. It seems like monitoring electoral politics falls under this group’s purview, which is not a surprise given how unpopular Biden and his lackeys are heading into the 2022 midterm elections. And after how January 6 protesters were and are being treated, especially as compared to BLM protesters, it begs the question who would qualify as “other adversaries.”
The last line is particularly troubling. It states, “Such malicious actors often spread disinformation to exploit vulnerable individuals and the American public, including during national emergencies.” In the past two years we’ve seen mayors, governors, and the president declare states of emergencies with no end in sight and no oversight. Much like the War on Terror, the COVID-19 state of emergency could become semi-permanent since the flu, like terrorism, will always exist, as will cheap power grabs and hypnotizing info-mericals.
So, it’s interesting that the same group that lauded criticisms of the War on Terror is poised to go after anyone who dare dissent during national emergencies like the COVID-19 lockdowns. It would appear that the DHS is giving the Disinformation Governance Board a blank check in times of crisis, which are the times in which criticisms of expanding governmental powers are most necessary. To that I say, “Check, please!”
Is There Cause for Concern?
In short, yes. Whenever bureaucrats form a new group or division of an existing department or agency, it’s safe to bet on two things. First, the creation of that new group or division is likely some kind of government expansion. Second, it’s likely here to stay because that’s how bureaucracy works. It’s kinda like glitter. Once it’s opened, it gets everywhere, and it takes one heck of a vacuum to eradicate.
Couple that with the past two years of moving goal posts. Let’s not forget that the government that gave us the “two weeks to flatten the curve” piling piece of propaganda put some of us under quasi-house arrest for almost two years and made some of us choose between our paychecks and our right to privacy and bodily autonomy with vaccine mandates.
This is why I don’t believe the government went it says that the Disinformation Governance Board will not be targeting American citizens or engage with domestic disinformation. The PATRIOT Act passed in the wake of 9/11 was meant to target would be terrorists, and today it’s been repurposed to surveil American Citizens. If you want to know more about that, check this out:
Even if we assume the best of intentions in regards to the Disinformation Governance Board (which I don’t, of course), there’s the iron law of oligarchy. This is one of the few theories in political science that’s referred to as a law, and it states that bureaucracies will become less democratic and more oligarchical over time. And oligarchs aren’t all that interested in civil liberties and privacy.
So as much as DHS wants us to believe that the Disinformation Governance Board will protect these fundamental rights, I don’t see that happening now or in the future. Call me jaded, but I’ve been sold that rotten cart of government goods too many times. Not to mention that any rights that get in the way of government action are apparently “privileges,” and we’re selfish if we exercise them in ways that buck those in power. At least that’s what they told me through their maskless faces.
Is the Boy Crying Wolf Again?
Honestly, we need to be asking this question more of our political commentators, talking heads, and politicians. It seems each new policy or cultural change comes on the brink of some kind of crisis or emergency. If we don’t allow children to transition, trans people will die. If we don’t radically change the way we consume energy, we’ll be facing irreversible global cooling, wait, warming… both, it’s climate change. And if we don’t give everyone government checks, well, they’ll probably vote some of the morons out of office.
Some defenders of the current administration seem to have more of a problem with how the political right is characterizing the Disinformation Governance Board. Of course, these are the same people who hide behind phrases like “democracy dies in darkness” and then support cover ups like the Clinton server scandal and the Hunter Biden laptop debacle.
The oddest part of all of this is that every government agency and department is already tasked with making credible statements and dispelling falsehoods. We already have an FBI to monitor potential domestic acts of terrorism. We already have a CIA to monitor foreign threats. We already have U.S. Customs and Border Protection to fact check human smugglers. We also have a White House Press Secretary who tells us how break downs in the supply chain and skyrocketing inflation are our fault.
Isn’t the Disinformation Governance Board redundant?
That’s a pretty good indicator that there’s more to this particular board than meets the eye. And if the mission crawl of the several years of investigations into political opponents tell us anything, it’s that anything you say or can appear to have said will be used against you in a kangaroo court of the ruling class’s choosing. And there will be doxing.
Parting Thoughts
We can agree that lies are damaging and truth is a requirement for a democratic republic like ours without relegating more power to the government in the process. In fact, I think that was the whole point of the 1st Amendment. The government is supposed to be subject to our criticisms and critiques, not the other way around. After the treatment of medical professions and scientists who spoke out against the lockdowns and vaccines, it’s clear this ain’t your founding father’s Bill of Rights anymore.
They’re mostly white, straight, Christian males, so they’ve got disinformation written all of them. Better tell Biden.
Subscribe to get new posts in your inbox every Wednesday!