FOIA Docs Show Biden Disinfo Board’s Internal Reach, Facebook Connections

Recent Freedom of Information Act disclosures reveal that the Biden administration actively prepared the Disinformation Governance Board before its rapid termination. Documents show early coordination among five federal agencies and direct communications with Big Tech executives, specifically Meta, indicating a structured effort to integrate private sector platforms into federal information governance. These findings challenge the administration’s public assertions that the board had not yet commenced operations, highlighting a significant discrepancy between internal preparations and public statements. The relevance to open data lies in the transparency of these interactions and the categorization of specific topics as security risks. By labeling inquiries into election validity and vaccine efficacy as threats, the board’s planning documents suggest a politicized approach to information management. This raises critical concerns about the independence and objectivity required in intelligence and security agencies, questioning whether data-driven decisions were influenced by political agendas rather than neutral, factual analysis. Ultimately, this episode underscores the tension between government efforts to combat misinformation and the preservation of civil liberties. The lack of transparency in these preliminary stages, coupled with the heavy redaction of released documents, erodes public trust in official data narratives. For the open data community, this case serves as a cautionary tale regarding the need for clear boundaries between security operations and free expression, emphasizing the importance of holding technology companies and government bodies accountable for how they define and manage information risks.

Source: newsbusters.org
Published on 2023-01-03

FOIA Docs Show Biden Disinfo Board’s Internal Reach, Facebook Connections

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