FOIA Docs Show Biden Disinfo Board’s Internal Reach, Facebook Connections
FOIA Docs Show Biden Disinfo Board’s Internal Reach, Facebook Connections
The release of internal documents reveals that the DHS Disinformation Governance Board actively collaborated with federal agencies and Big Tech firms, including Meta, before its abrupt termination. Despite public claims by administration officials that the board had not yet begun work, internal communications demonstrate that operational planning, inter-agency coordination, and high-level meetings with social media executives were underway months earlier. This discrepancy highlights a significant gap between public transparency and actual government activity regarding information control initiatives. Critically, the board’s approach involved labeling questions about the 2020 election and vaccine efficacy as national security risks, raising serious concerns about the politicization of intelligence and homelsecurity functions. By engaging directly with entities tasked with providing objective intelligence, the DGB blurred the lines between independent security analysis and political messaging. This conflation undermines trust in governmental institutions, as it suggests that security agencies may have been used to suppress legitimate public discourse rather than protect citizens from genuine threats. This case is vital for open data advocates because it illustrates how opaque government operations can undermine accountability and free speech. The reliance on redacted documents and the lack of clear public justification for the board’s activities demonstrate the dangers of secretive decision-making in digital governance. For open data initiatives, this serves as a cautionary tale: without rigorous transparency, government partnerships with private technology sectors can easily become vehicles for political censorship, eroding public trust and obscuring the true scope of state surveillance and influence operations.
Source: newsbusters.orgPublished on 2023-01-05