Advisers to the U.S. Homeland Security Department said there was no need for the Disinformation Governance Board created by President Joe Biden's administration earlier this year.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a member of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees, called the board "unconstitutional," praising the recommendation it is unnecessary.
"DHS decides today there was no need for its unconstitutional Disinformation Board after all," Hawley tweeted.
Hawley's fellow Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee took a bow for their work to discredit the so-called "Ministry of Truth" – a homage to George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984."
"Hate to say we told you so," the House Homeland GOP Twitter account posted Monday. "From its initially botched rollout, the 'Ministry of Truth' lacked a defined mission or even direction. It was clear it was a political tool to be wielded by the party in control."
The recommendation from a Homeland Security Advisory Council subcommittee comes two months after Nina Jankowicz, the head of Biden's disinformation-fighting advisory group, resigned.
The board's creation provoked criticism from critics of Biden and skepticism from some experts, who felt a government agency should not be responsible for tackling disinformation since the government itself is often accused of wrongdoing.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said at the time the board was being "grossly and intentionally mischaracterized" and it was not about censorship or policing speech.
DHS said the board was intended to advise the government on how to fight lies spread by, for example, foreign countries such as Russia or China, or human traffickers.
DHS said in May it was pausing the board's activity pending a "thorough review."
Information from Reuters was used throughout this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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