The Unholy Trinity of Leftist Disinformation Coordination: Big Tech, DHS, and Congress

The Biden-Harris Administration came to a screeching halt earlier this month in the form of an electoral backlash against the Left not seen since 1994. When one remembers some of their worst and most outrageous policy initiatives, it is unsurprising that Americans rejected another four years of the same. Recall, for example, President Biden’s Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) attempt to create a so-called “Disinformation Governance Board,” a dystopian attempt to censor speech out of line with the official government narrative.

Created under the pretext of protecting Americans from “false information,” in reality, the Disinformation Board was an attempt to establish a government bureaucracy to serve as the arbiter of truth. Often, this meant the deplatforming and censoring of conservative viewpoints – even if grounded entirely in truth – solely because the prevailing narrative online contradicted an official government position.

The ACLJ has pushed back against this unconstitutional usurpation of your First Amendment rights by unelected bureaucrats every step of the way. In April 2022, the ACLJ filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to peek behind the curtain and bring the true motivation for the creation of the Disinformation Board to light. In the succeeding months, the ACLJ has combed through thousands of documents to ascertain the actual reasons surrounding the Biden-Harris Deep State’s attempts to silence certain Americans online.

Publicizing the Disinformation Board quickly led to its discontinuation. A federal whistleblower shared documents with the Senate Judiciary Committee revealing plans for a Disinformation Board as early as September 2021, along with an exploration of the possibility of partnerships with Big Tech.

These documents blatantly contradicted Secretary Mayorkas’ May 2022 testimony, in which he claimed there were no records related to the Board and that it had not yet begun its work. This was also contradicted by Disinformation Czar Nina Jankowicz’s April 27, 2022, tweet that she was “[h]onored to be serving in the Biden Administration @DHSgov and helping shape our counter-disinformation efforts.” It seems the Disinformation Board was important enough of a priority that Secretary Mayorkas was willing to risk perjury before Congress rather than sacrifice it as a policy priority.

In fact, our FOIA production has now uncovered the fact that Nina Jankowicz lied about her start date for the Disinformation Board, with emails showing she was conducting Disinformation Governance Board (referenced as “DGB”) meetings in early March 2022, long before its April 27, 2022, announced start date. Jankowicz’s start date further raises and the creation of the Disinformation Board raises further concern that the Department of Homeland Security violated the Anti-Deficiency Act by expending funds on work beyond the scope of congressionally appropriated funds.

Further confirmation of the Left’s plot to stifle conservative speech online was revealed by recently uncovered emails shared by DHS with the ACLJ as part of our FOIA lawsuit. These emails revealed a shocking truth: Kristie Canegallo, who served in the Biden-Harris Administration as a Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary and was a former Google Vice President of Trust and Safety, emailed DHS Secretary Mayorkas an article concerning the discontinuation of the Disinformation Board requesting, “[i]f possible . . . call Senator Murphy to brief him on the decision to pause the Board’s work. Bryn is connecting with his staff at 430.” (pg. 1) The article Canegallo shared highlighted several lines of text: “‘It’s incredibly important work,’ Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said of the board. ‘It’s extraordinary how the right wing has created a fiction out of thin air.’” (pg. 2) The apparent fiction Senator Murphy references here is mentioned in the article as “Republicans . . . worry about efforts to censor conservative views” and “Republicans accused Jankowicz of spreading false information herself, pointing, for example, to previous statements she made tying news about Hunter Biden to Russia.” (pg. 2)

In response to Canegallo’s email, Secretary Mayorkas wrote, “I will call him after the [Principals Committee meeting], I can’t at the moment. Can our [Office of Legislative Affairs] reach out again to his staff?” Another redacted member of the email chain replied: “Yes sir, will do.”

Make no mistake, the feigned ignorance of a Cabinet Secretary and opacity surrounding the Disinformation Board’s creation and function are intentional. The ACLJ had to file a lawsuit to obtain unlawfully withheld records from DHS. Our eventual success in securing the release of these records answers some questions while raising others. It is evident that the original intent of the Disinformation Board was to partner with Big Tech to censor dissenting viewpoints under the guise of protecting Americans from so-called “misinformation.” The involvement of Canegallo – a Biden-Harris Administration official with ties to Big Tech – only adds further validity to this theory. Adding the vehement support of far-Left elected officials, including Leftist Senators like Chris Murphy, makes one wonder where the idea of the Disinformation Board originated: Big Tech, the Biden-Harris Administration, or far-Left Members of Congress?

While the Disinformation Board push may not be solely attributable to a single actor here, this email exchange highlights the inherent danger of empowering the government to serve as the ultimate authority of what is true and good. The disdain with which the Biden-Harris Administration and Left-leaning Senators view conservative viewpoints reinforces the importance of fighting for freedom of speech in a constitutional republic.

Rest assured that the ACLJ will continue to fight to hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable and end the corrupt collusion between the unholy trinity of Big Tech, DHS, and Congress to censor free speech and silence American voices. The ACLJ supports all Americans’ First Amendment right to speak freely and stands against the misguided and ahistorical notion that the government can be trusted to function as a benevolent decider of the information or ideas that the American people are allowed to hear.