On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the department’s new disinformation board, despite conservative criticism that it is Orwellian.
“It works to guarantee that the way we deal threats, the connections between threats and acts of violence are addressed without compromising on free speech — respecting civil rights and civil liberties, the right to privacy,” Mayorkas said on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash.
In a separate interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mayorkas stated that the board will focus on measures to combat disinformation “without infringing on free speech or civil freedoms.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced the launch of its Misinformation Governance Board, with the purpose of fighting Russian disinformation and rebutting false information directed at migrants attempting to cross the US-Mexico border. He referenced fake information circulating in Haitian communities that claims the border is open as an example.
Republicans have slammed the new board, claiming that it will discriminate against conservatives and control free speech.
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) likened the board to George Orwell’s classic “1984,” which features the “Ministry of Truth.” On Twitter, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) repeated Gabbard’s remarks, calling the board a “Orwellian plan.”
While “we certainly could have done a better job of conveying what it does and does not do,” Mayorkas said on CNN on Sunday that the board’s objections “are precisely the antithesis of what this little working group within the Department of Homeland Security will do.”
He added that the board is an internal working group that would “convey those best practices to the operators” after gathering best practices to handle the misinformation threat posed by foreign state enemies and cartels. He went on to say that the board lacks operational power and will not be monitoring American citizens.
“The reality is, it is our job to confront disinformation that poses a threat to national security. And this department has been dealing with it for years, throughout the previous administration’s tenure,” he continued.