We previously discussed the defunct Disinformation Governance Board and its controversial head Nina Jankowicz. After the outcry over the program, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas finally relented and disbanded the board while insisting that it was never about censoring opposing views. Jankowicz has sued over the portrayal of her views. Now, Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) has exposed just how broad the scope of the censorship efforts were under the board in combatting “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation (MDM). This range of authority in what the agency called the “MDM space,” included targeting views on racial justice and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
New documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests show that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued that the agency could regulate speech related to “the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, racial justice, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the nature of U.S. support to Ukraine” as well as “irregular immigration.”
Those subjects stretch across much of the “space” used for political speech in the last few years.
Notably, within DHS, Jen Easterly, who heads the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, extended her agency’s mandate over critical infrastructure to include “our cognitive infrastructure.” The resulting censorship efforts included combating “malinformation” – described as information “based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.” I testified earlier on this effort.
So DHS asserted the authority to target viewpoints on racial justice, Ukraine, and other political subjects, including views based on fact but viewed as misleading in context.
What is also troubling is the continued effort to conceal these censorship activities. Homeland redacted much of this information on a now defunct board under FOIA Exemption 7(E), which protects “techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations.” That claim is itself chilling.
After the demise of the board, National Public Radio ran an interview entitled “How DHS’s disinformation board fell victim to misinformation.”
As the title suggests, NPR just repeated the view of Jankowicz despite the objections of many of us in the free speech community. Jankowicz insisted “we weren’t going to be doing anything related to policing speech. It was an internal coordinating mechanism to make sure that we were doing that work efficiently.” Yet, what were the criminal investigations, prosecutions, and enforcement efforts now being claimed as connected to this work?
Recently, a court found that the Biden Administration’s censorship efforts constituted “the most massive attack against free speech in United States history.” Those words by Chief U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty are part of a 155-page opinion granting a temporary injunction, requested by Louisiana and Missouri, to prevent White House officials from meeting with tech companies about social media censorship.
Yet, Democrats have gone all in on censorship, blacklisting, and even red-baiting efforts. The July 4 decision came six months after I testified before Congress that the Biden administration used social media companies for “censorship by surrogate.” Despite furious attacks by congressional Democrats in that and later hearings, a court found that the evidence overwhelmingly shows systematic violation of the First Amendment by the Biden administration.
Now we have a glimpse into the chilling scope of the Homeland Security’s efforts to target opposing viewpoints. From racial justice to Covid to Ukraine, these subjects involve core political speech. Yet, the Biden Administration felt that it had the right to monitor and combat opposing views in these areas.
In the first censorship hearing, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) criticized me for offering “legal opinions” without working at Twitter. I later noted that it was like saying a witness should not discuss the contents of the “Pentagon Papers” unless he or she worked at the Pentagon. Wasserman Schultz tried to portray the Twitter Files allegations as mere opinions; she cut me off when I tried to explain that the Twitter Files contents — like those of the Pentagon Papers — are “facts,” while the implication of those facts are opinions.
Now there are additional facts showing the massive scope and effort targeting opposing viewpoints. Yet, Democratic members continue to oppose further investigation into these efforts. More importantly, the Biden Administration appears to be using every means to conceal the scope of its efforts. Why? The public should know the range of subjects and claimed authority of these government programs.
This controversy goes to the very core of our constitutional values in protecting free speech. The effort to conceal these efforts and claims reflects the unease of the Biden Administration is telling the public what it has been doing secretly in its name.
Nothing has been “struck down.” The Appellate Court simply limited the SCOPE of the Preliminary Injunction.
Want to place a bet on what the Supreme Court has to say, when the case gets there?
Y’all are talking passed each other. The new language after review by the Fifth Circuit:
“Defendants, and their employees and agents, shall take no actions, formal or informal, directly or indirectly, to coerce or significantly encourage social-media companies to remove, delete, suppress, or reduce, including through altering their
algorithms, posted social-media content containing protected free speech. That includes, but is not limited to, compelling the platforms to act, such as by intimating that some form of punishment will follow a failure to comply with any request, or
supervising, directing, or otherwise meaningfully controlling the social-media companies’ decision-making processes.”
The key here is coercion and “significant encouragement.” The Government is not prohibited from “making decisions or pointing things out” as the original Anonymous said. This was indeed a significant limitation of the scope of the preliminary injunction, which was overly broad.
To constitute “significant encouragement,” there must be such a “close nexus” between the parties that the government is practically “responsible” for the challenged decision. The case goes on to define this and comes to the conclusion that the facts, as alleged, meet this requirement.
Crucially, however, this is a PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION, and therefore, the facts have not yet been litigated.
Professor Turley (and the media) apparently have a hard time distinguishing a pretrial motion from the underlying case.
“Professor Turley… have a hard time distinguishing a pretrial motion from the underlying case.”
How so? Is Turley referring solely to a pretrial motion or the situation in general?
See my above post, addressing Turley’s incorrect conclusion from this pretrial motion that the Court concluded that this was “the most massive attack against free speech in United States history.”
Judge Doughty overreached and infringed on the government’s own free speech rights.
Wally, Hardon, Svelaz, Gigi, whatever you call yourself now, next hour, next day, next troll suckypuppet, the government has no free speech rights. You’re not an attorney, not an academic, not even a very good troll. Rights are granted to the people of the nation by the Constitution so as to protect them from the government and not vice versa.
You really bring honor upon the oldest profession in history, not that anyone would grope you in a bathhouse in WeHo.
😂
“the government has no free speech rights.”
Yes it does.
“Government Speech Doctrine
As an outgrowth of the government subsidy cases, such as Rust v. Sullivan,80 the Court has established the government speech doctrine that recognizes that a government entity is entitled to say what it wishes81 and to select the views that it wants to express.82 In this vein, when the government speaks, the government is not barred by the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment from determining the content of what it says and can engage in viewpoint discrimination.83 The underlying rationale for the government speech doctrine is that the government could not function if the government could not favor or disfavor points of view in enforcing a program.84 And the Supreme Court has recognized that the government speech doctrine even extends to when the government receives private assistance in helping deliver a government-controlled message.85
https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1/government-speech-and-government-property-under-the-first-amendm.html
@OLLY @Upstate
Most definitely. I just don’t know how any of this ends well.
James,
How does it end?
Good question.
With the financial mess that has been going in for decades and as some would believe since the creation of the Fed, a complete collapse of our economy, the dollar?
A civil war? As I have argued many a time on the good professor’s blog, that is something that must be avoided. However, I sometimes feel it is unavoidable.
An attempted take over, one party rule by the Democrats? Looking at today’s column and previous ones, words and actions by the Democrats, not outside the realm of possibility. More convincing than the so-called Jan6th insurrection. Yesterday some yahoo tried to insist that 2 yahoos with pistols and limited ammunition and one with a pistol and rifle were evidence of an insurrection. All three people were not affiliated with each other, in separate arrests, in differing locations. Having been to Afghanistan I can tell you, ya need a lot more than 24 rounds of 9mm if you are going to attempt an insurrection.
Socio-economic collapse where everything just quits working by no ones fault other than the system just seizes up like a engine out of oil?
I do not know.
All I do know, invest in PMs and chickens.
“Socio-economic collapse where everything just quits working by no ones fault other than the system just seizes up like a engine out of oil?”
“Who is John Galt?”
-JAFO
I just don’t know how any of this ends well.
James, if by “ending well” you mean ending this assault on our country and the people, it will happen. But if we look at history, it won’t end without far more pain and suffering than is happening today. The regime won’t go quietly and we’re seeing what this police-state will do to those that dissent. While the percentage of Loyalists and Patriots likely resemble that of those in the 18th century (20% each), everything will depend on how much more the middle 60% will endure before they’ve finally had enough.
The “Misinformation Governance Board” will morph into a new, nicer sounding, group. As truly committed communists, they will never give up their desire to censor and destroy their perceived opposition. Ever……
“The “Misinformation Governance Board” will morph into a new . . .”
Yep.
The Soviets had countless names for their secret police — charged with enforcing State propaganda and censoring dissent. Each time one was detested by the populace, the Soviets merely changed the name.
Sam
Should those who oppose aid for Ukraine have to show their income tax returns to prove the credibility of their concerns? If they haven’t paid very much taxes, would it be like Joe Blow wanting to decide corporate policy when he doesn’t even own much stock in the corporation?
Those of us who oppose aid to Ukraine only have to offer one thing: your home address so that the gubermint can show up, pack you into a missile and launch your crazy AF mind.
You’ll be the biggest war deterrent ever sent to Ukraine for they will all scatter faster upon seeing you in flight than the men in white jackets chasing you down the hall of a psych unit
Should those who support aid for the Ukraine war go to their local recruitment center and enlist in a combat MOS and volunteer to be first on the front lines of WWIII?
If not them, their children and grandchildren?
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲
The Government will always attempt to squelch Free Speech in order to Control, with or without a “Disinformation Governance Board” or Other visible Department means.
The ‘corruption of this Government is just so thick, inside and out, at Federal, State, and Local Levels. Gangs (𝐋𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬) running the System alongside of the Government bureaucrats. The 𝐋𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 (lunatics) have taken over the 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 (asylum).
We are trapped on the sidelines. Our Sovereignty sold into Servitude.
𝐋𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐮𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐬
We’re very sorry to have to tell you this, but if you’re not watching Senate Banking or House Financial Services Committee hearings when the topic is about increasing bank capital or any new regulations to make the U.S. banking system less prone to blowing up, you are likely seriously underestimating how corruption has become the new normal in the United States of America.
By: Pam Martens and Russ Martens ~ September 20, 2023
[LINK] wallstreetonparade.com/2023/09/lobbyists-grab-control-at-house-financial-services-hearings-backing-jamie-dimons-push-to-gut-higher-capital-proposals/
𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐓 𝐂𝐁𝐃𝐂 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a global provider of financial payment services, has announced that its central bank digital currency (CBDC) connector has entered beta testing stages. SWIFT reported that three central banks are already testing this interlinking solution, while more than 30 financial institutions are testing its various applications in a sandbox environment.
[LINK] news.bitcoin.com/swift-cbdc-interlinking-solution-enters-beta-testing/
—
Note:
The Fed Cartel is busy working on integrating a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
JPMorgan Bank and Others have already built Crypto Currencies ready to deploy full-scale.
Here’s the Thing and its important. “Digital Currency” does not have to be ‘issued’ from the Federal Reserve System or Banks.
The United States Department of the Treasury can publish/mint its own ‘digital currency’.
[K] Article I, Section 9, Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time
(i.e.: The Federal Reserve can be shut down)
The Federal Reserve and Banks are going to all ends to pull the idea off, that the Fed needs to be the ‘Official Intermediary’ of U.S. Currency.
This is WRONG, The People of the United States can deal ‘directly’ with their Government (The U.S. Treasury) as set forth in the U.S. Constitution.
Digital Currency will enable this One-to-One transaction between the Citizens (You) and the U.S. Government directly.
We the People no longer need to be Dependent or made to be Dependent on a third party Intermediary (The Federal Reserve).
(i.e.: The Federal Reserve can be shut down)
This Country was founded for Freedom, not Servitude,
It’s time to take our Sovereignty back from the Banking Industry.
Refs.:
[LINK] constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S9-C7-1/ALDE_00001095/
[LINK] http://www.federalreserve.gov/central-bank-digital-currency.htm
I truly never thought I would live to see the fears we had of the Soviet Union come to pass 30 years after its collapse. We’re cooked.
“NPR just repeated the view of Jankowicz despite the objections of many of us in the free speech community.” The establishment of NPR, PBS, and their parent CPB, were the institutional beginning of Democrats to control public discourse. Like the BBC or CBC (Canada), they were based on the idea that the government was a more neutral and accurate source of information that private companies. This has turned out to be untrue. The closeness to political power has been corrupting.
Perhaps the first political leader to realize the importance of “public” radio was Adolf Hitler.
“From early on, the Nazis recognized the propaganda value of radio. They would soon use it to influence Germany’s then 70 million people. Shortly after Hitler became chancellor, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels compelled German manufacturers to sell cheap radio receivers.
. . .
The discount paid off. At new the German Radio Exhibition in Berlin on August 18, 1933, 100,000 sets were sold. Until then, Germany was home to about 4 million households paying the public media license fee. By the middle of World War II, that number had quadrupled. The monthly fee of 2 Reichsmarks flowed to Goebbels’ Propaganda Ministry.
Programming was controlled by the state
To maximize influence, formerly independent broadcasters were combined under the policy of Gleichschaltung, or synchronization, which brought institutions in line with official policy points. Goebbels made no secret that “radio belongs to us.” ‘
https://www.dw.com/en/nazi-germany-radio-propaganda-turns-90/a-66551137
Gee, the dept of homeland security should combat and suppress speech that does not agree with them. What could possibly go wrong. Doing what they were proposing is one step from saying we should arrest and jail these perpetrators of misinformation for public safety. I think tossing tea into a harbor was a protest of a predatory tax. This and other protests led to the occupation of Boston in order “to stop the spread of the contagion”. And the Harbor was sealed effectively. Only about 1/3 of American colonists supported the revolution at it’s onset yet we have now at least 50 % of the present population in vigorous opposition and it seems to be building. A sensible and responsive government would learn to backoff from such actions but the rarified atmosphere and echo chamber in DC seems to preclude rational thought and I fear they will push till there is real explosion. Maybe it would also make sense to obtain the minutes of all that vacation time in Delaware. Does Cabal ring a bell.
(OT — administrative)
Is there a new sign-in procedure? Before it was email, user name. Now, to have a user name, you have to register an account with WP and log in (along with two other log in options).
Sam
Sam,
I dont sign in, but there does appear to have been an upgrade of JetPack.
Select the ‘envelope’ icon when replying if you don’t have a WordPress account. Is this a permanent change, Darren?
Jafo:
Sorry, I don’t have an answer for your question. If it came down the pipe from WordPress I would imagine so.
Understood. Thanks.
“Select the ‘envelope’ icon . . .”
I didn’t notice that. I thought it was for some-sort-of email login. Thanks.
When the totalitarian leftist not only tell you they are totalitarian, but then try to hide the fact, try to use other means to circumvent their original intent, and even resort to redaction to hide their efforts, believe them that they are totalitarian.
Then there is also the lying about the lying the Democrats do….and how they reward their fellows who do.
For one example….how are the 51 Gang being rewarded for their lying about the LapTop?
Consider how “in your face” the latest appointments of some. of the 51 are….utterly slapping us in the face with it.
That is not a Biden technique….that is an Obama characteristic.
Seems to me that is the key to understanding the Biden Administration….as it is not in any way Biden at the Helm….it is Obama.
If Dems really believed these efforts were legitimate they wouldn’t be trying to obscure what they were doing.
It’s always been clear the left’s definition of misinformation is “anything which conflicts with our narrative”.
Rest assured; if the regime says they are combating MDM, what they are actually saying is they are using MDM to combat opposition to the regime.
what they are actually saying is they are using MDM…
Agreed. Considering Cocaine and crack are Hunter’s drugs of choice, it is only likely that they have access and are using MDM. Joe Biden is likely on it as well to make him look alive when we know he is DOA
MDM (Ecstasy)
MDM and MDMA is the shortened chemical name for the synthetic psychoactive drug 3, 4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine.
🤡
“[T]he Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued that the agency could regulate speech related to . . .” (JT)
DHS is America’s primary *law enforcement* agency. That means that the Biden administration is turning America into a Police State.
Sam
The fact that debbie wasserman shultz remains in congress and she and everyone in her entire rolodex is not in jail or exile is the reason the swamp must have censorship.
@Anonymous: The fact that Debbie Wasserman-Schultz remains in Congress one may owe to the constituency which seated her. The same constituency within which a Republican canvasser was beaten for his ‘misdeeds’ during the 2020 election campaign here. The corruption, not only here but elsewhere as well, lies within the electorate, not the elected.
Progressives lie
About everything
Progressives want to imprison their political opponents
They are fascists/communists/socialists, I.e. typical authoritarians
Disastrous withrawal from Iraq, Whitmer conspiracy, Jan 6 infiltration and provocation, political congruence, diversity, [catastrophic] [anthropogenic] immigration reform, non-sterilizing “vaccines” and masks, coups without borders, progressive prices, Green Blight, pedophilia, Dreams of Herr Mengele, gun runner, etc. #HateLovesAbortion
The lies about Trump colluding with Russia.
The lies about the Biden laptop even after Ratliff declared it genuine.
The lies about the “vaccine” stopping the spread, etc. etc. etc.
The lies about the lab-leak theory being impossible.
The continuing lies about masking efficacy.
The continuing lies about the border.
The continuing lies about “no evidence” Joe was grifting in China and Ukraine.
What else are the “defenders of Democracy” lying about? Probably a much longer list.
The quote of the decade comes from Maggie Haberman, the NYT Whitehouse correspondent: ““Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year,” meaning top Democrats gaslighted everybody about Russian collusion. That was the one time the NYT didn’t “debunk” the truth.
The Democrats, with their love of censorship, are by far the biggest threat to truth and democracy. Don’t kid yourselves.
You left out Putin the madman blew up the Nordstream pipelines.
My name is Michael Caine.
My name is Michael Caine.
My name is Michael Caine.
just like Biden new Gun committee one mission is to TAKE guns from law abiding people…to help criminals!
of course they did!
Time to Defund Government! 50% cut in spending. End all federal aid to cities, states and colleges
@guyventner
It’s a nice thought, but we have to get the perpetrators out of power first, and your guess at how we accomplish that is as good as mine. It’s looking likely that Trump will be the nominee and there is no way in Hades they will let him win. If by some insane chance he does, the malevolence the dems would rain down on this country would make his first term look like kid n’ play.
Personally, right now I’m praying the courts are at the ready to block the declaration of a ‘climate emergency’ as that would do likewise as compared to the covid shutdown, I don’t think our society, any society, would survive (oh, the irony). And that is without even getting into the other disasters the Biden admin has created. It is a bloody, seemingly intractable mess, and that was likely the idea.
America First Policy Institute (AFPI) aspires to be an administration-in-waiting. Its staff of 172 includes eight former cabinet secretaries from the Trump administration and 20 other political appointees.
AFPI is the newest think-tank preparing for a second term for Mr Trump, but it is not the biggest. The Heritage Foundation has its own presidential transition project and is led by Paul Dans.
As well as drafting policies for each department, Mr Dans and his colleagues are building a list of potential recruits to serve in the next Republican administration. He likes to describe the effort as a conservative LinkedIn. Fully staffing an administration requires about 4,000 political appointees, 1,200 of whom must be approved by the Senate. Heritage and its allied think-tanks are vetting the people to fill those jobs now.
Thanks to these efforts, the next Trump administration, if there is one, will have fleshed-out plans and the know-how to advance them. That would make it very different from Mr Trump’s first term.
James,
I agree.
Looks like the Biden admin is expanding the very same deep state that has damaged America with the creating of the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group, comprised of some of the very same intelligence experts who claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was likely Russian misinformation campaign.
Also created is the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Guess who is in charge: Kamala Harris. So, with her track record of accomplishments, it will go absolutely nowhere.
Can America survive till 2024 with the gross messes the Biden admin has created?
James, the Democrats have been on a winning streak with special elections, even in a NH district Trump narrowly won in 2020. 2016 was the last election Democrats were going to allow the process to surprise them. If Republicans aren’t already doing a forensic analysis of these special elections to learn the reasons their candidates lost, then they won’t be prepared for the additional election interference tactics the Democrats will deploy for the general.
True, Olly. Of equal importance is for courts to hear and investigate complaints of election cheating.
50% is just a good start.