Fox News journalist Peter Doocy speaks with such confidence… and has such little substance behind what he’s actually saying. At a Monday press conference, Doocy questioned Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki about a so-called disinformation governance board announced at the Department of Homeland Security, something that conservatives who are delusionally convinced they’re being censored seemed ready to claim as another example of supposed government overreach. Arguments against the board were deceptive however, Psaki noted.
The unemployment rate was 6.4% when I took office. Now, because of our economic plans, it’s down to 3.6%.
That’s the fastest decline in unemployment ever recorded.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 2, 2022
Doocy asked, “Does the president know that DHS is putting together this disinformation governance board?” His question seemingly hearkens back to false right-wing conspiracy theories about Biden’s supposed ineptitude and lack of control over his own administration. Psaki replied as follows, seemingly implying right-wing framing failed to capture the full story and shutting down Doocy’s narrative:
‘I’m not sure if this has been in your reporting yet, but this is a continuation of work that was done… under the Trump administration, to take steps to address disinformation [and] address the use of disinformation in helping smugglers prompt the movement of more migrants across to the border. I would note that the first example given in the announcement about this was DHS’s work to understand how misinformation is spread by human smugglers that prey on vulnerable populations attempting to migrate to the United States. For anyone who’s out there who may be concerned about the increase in migrants to the border, this is the kind of apparatus that’s working to address disinformation and again continuing the work of the Department of Homeland Security in 2020, something we’re currently applauding.’
Fox News’ Peter Doocy: “Does the president know that DHS is putting together this Disinformation Governance Board?”
WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki: “I’m not sure if this has been in your reporting yet, but this is a continuation of work that was done under the prior administration.” pic.twitter.com/kFbKcW9lYU
— The Recount (@therecount) May 2, 2022
The board is not set to monitor American citizens, and anyone implying or explicitly stating otherwise appears to be essentially brazenly lying. Some of the disinformation that officials are targeting includes lies that the southern border is open — false claims that have been targeted at prospective migrants to the U.S. In addition to the fact that the board isn’t actually slated to surveil American citizens — something the right-wing outrage over the endeavor doesn’t make clear, the board also isn’t set to have any operational authority — it won’t be doing anything in terms of policy changes, it would seem. Rather, the whole thing is set to function in a more advisory capacity, providing information about the problems under its purview to other officials.
President Biden is having lunch with President Clinton today after dining with President Obama last week, Jen Psaki confirms.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 2, 2022
Other targets of the board’s operations will include lies spread by Russian operatives. “The fact is that disinformation that creates a threat to the security of the homeland is our responsibility to address. And this department has been addressing it for years, throughout the years of the prior administration in an ongoing basis,” U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas explained on CNN.
President Biden hosted former president @barackobama for lunch last week and is expected to host @billclinton as well says @PressSec
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) May 2, 2022
