DHS Disinformation Director Resigns; Board Suspended

The Department of Homeland Security’s disinformation board director announced her resignation Wednesday after weeks of Republican criticism claiming the agency’s board was attempting to police online speech (see 2205040061). Nina Jankowicz announced her departure, saying mischaracterizations of the board’s work had become a distraction to the DHS’ work, and she will leave to return to work in the “public sphere.” The board’s work will be “paused” during a monthslong review of the board by the Homeland Security Advisory Council, a DHS spokesperson said. With a 75-day deadline, the assessment will focus on how DHS can “most effectively and appropriately address disinformation that poses a threat to our country, while protecting free speech, civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy,” the agency said. HSAC will review how DHS can “achieve greater transparency across our disinformation-related work and increase trust with the public and other key stakeholders.” The board has been “grossly and intentionally mischaracterized: it was never about censorship or policing speech in any manner,” DHS said. “It was designed to ensure we fulfill our mission to protect the homeland, while protecting core Constitutional rights. However, false attacks have become a significant distraction from the Department’s vitally important work to combat disinformation that threatens the safety and security of the American people.” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr tweeted he was “pleased” to hear about the board’s suspension: It’s “important to shut this and all similar efforts down entirely. The core problem is not the people that would serve as the government's Disinformation Czars, its that those jobs should not exist.”