Lankford — the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee on government operations and border management — wrote to Mayorkas as reports found that DHS is expanding its disinformation authority across several DHS sub-agencies.
Lankford stated that the DHS is engaging in mission creep by expanding into “contentious areas” such as the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and even coordinating with private social media and technology companies to “deem what is disinformation.”
Lankford said:
The expansion is a disturbing trend where the federal government goes from combatting foreign interference to controlling national narratives and debate under the guise of security. DHS appears to be taking such steps by entrenching disinformation police throughout many of its critical missions and speaking to contentious areas like the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The concerns are further compounded by reports that DHS is continuing to coordinate with private technology and social media companies to deem what is disinformation. As a result, many citizens are rightfully troubled about the slow creep of information control.
DHS hasn’t given Congress and the American people clear answers about its full intent to combat disinformation. Instead Members of Congress are left to read news reports and leaked documents from whistleblowers that paint a politicized attempt to silence certain viewpoints. I urge you to set expansion of disinformation authorities aside and provide timely answers to Congress.
Lankford emphasized that DHS is expanding its role despite the DHS’s affirmation and subsequent response to an Office of Inspector General report which found that there is “no need” for the Disinformation Governance Board’s existence.
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