Welcome to the Disinformation Governance Board: The Beginning of the End of Free Speech
While Democrats cry about a Supreme Court ruling that has not even been conclusively decided and claim that it will be a prohibition against abortion (the ruling would not prohibit abortion, and rather, it would move the decision of legality to the states) and homosexual and interracial marriage (this is completely absurd, being that marriage does not cause the death of a life, at least in the literal sense), a real threat looms on the horizon. Is George Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth” being built in the United States? When the Department of Homeland Security issued its domestic terrorism bulletins (May 14, 2021 and February 07, 2022), I knew that this marked the beginning of the end of free speech in the United States. After all, if they could label you as likely to commit violence because you opposed pandemic measures or believed the 2020 presidential election results were not legitimate, imagine what type of tools, utilized under the guise of securing our freedoms, that agents of the state could use to spy on you, and perhaps make you disappear. Welcome back to McCarthyism or Woodrow Wilson’s Espionage and Sedition Acts, and the conditioning of Americans to accept the idea of misinformation being an existential threat to our democracy has finally reached a new stage.
DHS has taken these bulletins further with the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board, and although the federal government, and particularly Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, claims that this new board will be bipartisan and target opportunists peddling false information to immigrants and prevent foreign governments from influencing our elections (something our own government does to other countries, regularly), a quick review of the “good intentions” of the Bush administration after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent anti-terrorist surveillance measures will show you exactly where we are headed with this. In fact, the DHS was created in the wake of the attacks, and until Edward Snowden’s 2013 data leaks (perhaps classified as malinformation by today’s standards), the idea that the federal government was conducting surveillance operations against the American people was considered a preposterous conspiracy theory that only a nutjob could believe. Yet, the destruction of the Fourth Amendment (and to a lesser extent the First, Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Amendments) was very real, and despite the prior charges of misinformation against the quack jobs who were pushing the ideas of conspiracy, Americans no longer retain the right to be left alone from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment is effectively dead.
Abuse following actions taken by the board of disinformation will be no different than the massive surveillance state that Americans have allowed to steal their rights. After 9-11, the federal government made arguments that it was only trying to stop terrorism and that if you had nothing to hide, there was nothing to worry about. Both turned out to be lies, but the surveillance state has become entrenched in the culture and governance of this country. There is no easy way to get rid of it, as Americans have been conditioned into accepting it. No doubt, Americans will be convinced (and have to some extent) that disinformation is such a threat that the government needs to censor speech or arrest or smear individuals who oppose the regime in power. Unfortunately, Edward Snowden’s prophetic words of “Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say” may become a reality, as the latter part of these words may take on new meaning in the days of upcoming censorship.
What is the government afraid of? Is it so incompetent and unable to provide superior and well-articulated speech through the free exchange of ideas that it has to eliminate its competition? Does it fear allowing people to think for themselves? Does it believe that Americans are too unintelligent to determine reality on their own terms? Does it believe that it should be the sole arbiter of truth?
President Biden chose Nina Jankowicz, a starch anti-Russia warrior who falsely claimed that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation and pushed the bogus narrative of Trump having colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election (a state-approved conspiracy theory that the Left clung to for four years), to head the DGB. It is ironic that she attempted to propagandize Americans with false narratives for partisan purposes, and yet, she is considered a disinformation expert and nonpartisan. With the anti-Russia sentiment growing in the United States, expect this new board to target people who have a difference of opinion about the war in Ukraine (such as questions of whether all of the atrocities sold by the corporate media were actually committed by Russia). The Left’s Russia boogeyman might just be the excuse that it needs to rid the country of dissenting views and solidify control through its narrative.
It is ironic that the Left claims to be in favor of privacy rights and the right over one’s body (especially at a time when Roe v. Wade may be overturned), and yet, it screams the loudest to censor information that it arbitrarily classifies as dangerous (like any challenge to the COVID-19 vaccine), prohibits free association or business between voluntary parties (through executive edict), and forces people to make a medical decision in order to participate in society. Is it any surprise, then, that some Republicans (the backwards party, according to the official narrative) are fighting back to defund the board or block implementation of its authority? At least, for now, there is some pushback, but eventually, even Republicans will bend to the pressure and permit a centralized location for determining what is and is not factual information. Soon Americans will be unable to challenge the narratives of the federal government or be able to distinguish between truth and fiction, as they will have the illusion of choice in sources of information (but it will all be controlled by a single source).
American propaganda is strong now, but just imagine what will happen when there is a monopoly on information. Even if the new board focuses on creating a centralized narrative and casts doubt on certain information, this is still an abridgement of speech, as is creating an environment of self-censorship among those afraid to speak out for fear of unwarranted targeting or laws directed at individuals falling into certain categories (called “chilling”). Look at what the White House did to Nicki Minaj, and this creates an atmosphere where other people remain silent to avoid similar repercussions or character assassinations. Plus, the federal government, and particularly the Biden administration, has used its partnerships (whether voluntary or involuntary) with social media companies to remove posts and narratives that it does not like (indirect censorship). In a true free country, these soft censorship methods would not be utilized, but I fear that this is only the beginning of what is to come.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website. As more information is released about the DHS’ DGB, I will provide updates.
DHS has taken these bulletins further with the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board, and although the federal government, and particularly Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, claims that this new board will be bipartisan and target opportunists peddling false information to immigrants and prevent foreign governments from influencing our elections (something our own government does to other countries, regularly), a quick review of the “good intentions” of the Bush administration after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent anti-terrorist surveillance measures will show you exactly where we are headed with this. In fact, the DHS was created in the wake of the attacks, and until Edward Snowden’s 2013 data leaks (perhaps classified as malinformation by today’s standards), the idea that the federal government was conducting surveillance operations against the American people was considered a preposterous conspiracy theory that only a nutjob could believe. Yet, the destruction of the Fourth Amendment (and to a lesser extent the First, Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Amendments) was very real, and despite the prior charges of misinformation against the quack jobs who were pushing the ideas of conspiracy, Americans no longer retain the right to be left alone from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment is effectively dead.
Abuse following actions taken by the board of disinformation will be no different than the massive surveillance state that Americans have allowed to steal their rights. After 9-11, the federal government made arguments that it was only trying to stop terrorism and that if you had nothing to hide, there was nothing to worry about. Both turned out to be lies, but the surveillance state has become entrenched in the culture and governance of this country. There is no easy way to get rid of it, as Americans have been conditioned into accepting it. No doubt, Americans will be convinced (and have to some extent) that disinformation is such a threat that the government needs to censor speech or arrest or smear individuals who oppose the regime in power. Unfortunately, Edward Snowden’s prophetic words of “Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say” may become a reality, as the latter part of these words may take on new meaning in the days of upcoming censorship.
What is the government afraid of? Is it so incompetent and unable to provide superior and well-articulated speech through the free exchange of ideas that it has to eliminate its competition? Does it fear allowing people to think for themselves? Does it believe that Americans are too unintelligent to determine reality on their own terms? Does it believe that it should be the sole arbiter of truth?
President Biden chose Nina Jankowicz, a starch anti-Russia warrior who falsely claimed that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation and pushed the bogus narrative of Trump having colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election (a state-approved conspiracy theory that the Left clung to for four years), to head the DGB. It is ironic that she attempted to propagandize Americans with false narratives for partisan purposes, and yet, she is considered a disinformation expert and nonpartisan. With the anti-Russia sentiment growing in the United States, expect this new board to target people who have a difference of opinion about the war in Ukraine (such as questions of whether all of the atrocities sold by the corporate media were actually committed by Russia). The Left’s Russia boogeyman might just be the excuse that it needs to rid the country of dissenting views and solidify control through its narrative.
It is ironic that the Left claims to be in favor of privacy rights and the right over one’s body (especially at a time when Roe v. Wade may be overturned), and yet, it screams the loudest to censor information that it arbitrarily classifies as dangerous (like any challenge to the COVID-19 vaccine), prohibits free association or business between voluntary parties (through executive edict), and forces people to make a medical decision in order to participate in society. Is it any surprise, then, that some Republicans (the backwards party, according to the official narrative) are fighting back to defund the board or block implementation of its authority? At least, for now, there is some pushback, but eventually, even Republicans will bend to the pressure and permit a centralized location for determining what is and is not factual information. Soon Americans will be unable to challenge the narratives of the federal government or be able to distinguish between truth and fiction, as they will have the illusion of choice in sources of information (but it will all be controlled by a single source).
American propaganda is strong now, but just imagine what will happen when there is a monopoly on information. Even if the new board focuses on creating a centralized narrative and casts doubt on certain information, this is still an abridgement of speech, as is creating an environment of self-censorship among those afraid to speak out for fear of unwarranted targeting or laws directed at individuals falling into certain categories (called “chilling”). Look at what the White House did to Nicki Minaj, and this creates an atmosphere where other people remain silent to avoid similar repercussions or character assassinations. Plus, the federal government, and particularly the Biden administration, has used its partnerships (whether voluntary or involuntary) with social media companies to remove posts and narratives that it does not like (indirect censorship). In a true free country, these soft censorship methods would not be utilized, but I fear that this is only the beginning of what is to come.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website. As more information is released about the DHS’ DGB, I will provide updates.
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