Nina Jankowicz is set to become the first head of President Joe Biden’s newly-announced Disinformation Governance Board — but video from just two years ago suggests that she was uncomfortable with the executive branch having that kind of power over free speech when another political party was in power.
A number of past comments, tweets, and videos of Jankowicz began to surface after it was announced that she was to lead the newest federal entity — which will endeavor to “counter the spread of false information” — and those comments raised questions as to whether or not she would do so with equal measure without imposing her own political views.
But perhaps the most eye-opening video of them all came from May of 2020, when she argued that the executive branch — then occupied by former President Donald Trump — should not have the power to determine what information was true and what was not.
May, 2020. Nina Jankowicz was horrified at the idea of the Executive Branch (Trump) having any say in what is true or false.
She uses Poland's "Ministry of Digitalization" as an example of "anti-democratic online governance".
She also admits to being funded by Facebook. pic.twitter.com/5XoptnuMpJ
— Maze (@mazemoore) April 29, 2022
“Imagine that, you know, with President Trump right now calling all of these news organizations that have — inconvenient for him — stories that they’re getting out there, that he’s calling ‘fake news,’ and now lashing out at platforms,” Jankowicz said. “I would never want to see our executive branch have that sort of power, and that’s why, you know, the legislative process, with our duly elected officials is really important. That sort of consultative rule-making process. We can’t just govern by executive order anymore.”
But the planned Disinformation Governance Board — which Jankowicz is expected to head — gives the executive branch that exact power. It falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, the head of which reports directly to the president.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) was among those who raised the alarm — about the board in general, but about Jankowicz specifically as well — in a letter directed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“I write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to create a new Disinformation Governance Board. I confess, I at first thought this announcement was satire. Surely no American Administration would ever use the power of Government to sit in judgment on the First Amendment speech of its own citizens,” Hawley’s letter began. “Sadly, I was mistaken. Rather than protecting our border or the American Homeland, you have chosen to make policing Americans’ speech your priority. This new board is almost certainly unconstitutional and should be dissolved immediately.”
Hawley went on to say that Jankowicz, because of her prior statements about Trump politically charged comments about billionaire Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter, was a particularly questionable choice to lead the board.