The Department of Homeland Security should establish a “unified strategy” to counter the spread of falsehoods in cyberspace, according to the agency’s independent watchdog.
While refraining from calling for a revival of the controversial Disinformation Governance Board the DHS put on pause in May, the agency’s inspector general argued the department needs to devise a coherent plan to address mounting falsehoods spreading on the internet that could threaten civil “unrest” in the country.
BIDEN’S CONTROVERSIAL DISINFORMATION BOARD SUSPENDED AFTER WAVE OF CRITICISM
“DHS is responsible for coordinating the national response to cyber incidents,” the DHS watchdog said in a report dated Wednesday. “Without a unified strategy, DHS faces limited communication and awareness among its components, restrictions, and confusion over which DHS component should lead specific efforts to counter disinformation.”
Over recent years, the DHS has established multiple task forces to counter misinformation campaigns, the report found. For example, in 2018, it established the Countering Foreign Influence Task Force and later established the Foreign Influence and Interference Branch in its Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
However, a DHS OIG audit of the department’s approach to countering disinformation campaigns on social media concluded the DHS lacks “top-down guidance from the [DHS] Secretary to mitigate disinformation,” per the DHS watchdog’s report.
To coordinate efforts to counter disinformation campaigns better, the report recommended the DHS Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans draft specific plans for a “unified strategy” for countering the malicious misinformation campaigns.
“A more unified strategy is also needed to mitigate the threat of civil unrest from disinformation that may spread rumors about COVID-19 vaccines or increase fear about food and supply shortages, among other things,” the report continued.
In April, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas informed the House Judiciary Committee that his department had established a disinformation board to counter the dissemination of falsehoods online. The board was intended to counter “false information that is deliberately spread with the intent to deceive or mislead,” according to the DHS. About three weeks later, the DHS paused the board.
The board faced a torrent of criticisms from conservatives such as Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, who mocked the panel as the “Ministry of Truth” and panned it as Orwellian. The board’s leader, Nina Jankowicz, also faced ire from conservatives for her past social media comments, including disputed claims about Trump-Russia collusion.
Last month, a Homeland Security Advisory Council subcommittee recommended the DHS permanently nix the board.
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In its report calling for a “unified strategy,” the DHS OIG stressed it had not audited the disinformation board.
“We did not validate detailed information about the board, a strategy, or milestones as part of this audit, as it was formed after our fieldwork was complete,” the watchdog said in a footnote in its report.
