
The woman tapped to head the Biden administration’s new “disinformation” board attached to the Department of Homeland Security has a history of peddling misinformation, extensive experience working with liberal organizations, and appears to have been the lead singer for a Harry Potter-themed band, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation has found.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on April 27 the formation of a “Disinformation Governance Board,” telling lawmakers its goal is to tackle misinformation and disinformation targeting minority communities. Nina Jankowicz leads the board. The board is also responsible for disinformation prevention and correction ahead of 2022 midterm elections. according to Fox News.
Conservative critics of the board warned it posed a threat to Americans’ First Amendment rights. However, Mayorkas said Sunday that the board will not monitor American citizens and emphasized that Jankowicz is “eminently qualified” to lead it.
Cat’s out of my bag: Here’s a look at what I’ve been doing the past two-months and why I’ve been a little quiet.
Honored and privileged to be serving in Biden Administration @DHSgov and helping shape our counter-disinformation efforts. https://t.co/uN20vl7qqV pic.twitter.com/JEn4FqLdck
— Nina Jankowicz ???? (@wiczipedia) April 27, 2022
Jankowicz became a global fellow for the Wilson Center in 2017 and a “disinformation fellow” in 2019, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was an expert on projects at the Wilson Center. like “Malign Creativity: How Gender, Sex, and Lies are Weaponized Against Women Online.” In 2016 and 2017, she advised the Ukrainian government on “disinformation” and communications as part of her Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy fellowship, according to her website.
Jankowicz previously worked for the National Democratic Institute (a liberal non-profit that monitors speech online), where she oversaw programs relating to Russia and Belarus.
Jankowicz established Sophias Strategies LLC in 2021. firm doing research and policy advising, and, in 2022, she began as a senior adviser for the Centre for Information Resilience, a U.K.-based nonprofit purporting to combat “disinformation” and harmful behavior toward women and minorities online, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Jankowicz also wrote two books, one of which was published in 2020 is titled “How to Lose the Disinformation War.” The other is titled “How to Be a Woman Online,” which was published on April 21.
“It is an important step in the denormalization of women’s treatment online,” Jankowicz wrote in “How to Be a Woman Online” regarding women reporting alleged “abuse” on social media.
“To be a woman online is an inherently dangerous act,” she wrote in another part of the book.
Some of Jankowicz’s past statements have recently come under scrutinyMany accuse her of selling false information, including widely dismissing Hunter Biden’s laptop story. calling it a “Trump campaign product.”
Joe Biden’s new disinformation czar Nina Jankowicz publicly cast doubt on The Post’s accurate reporting about Hunter Biden’s laptop and promoted false rumors suggesting it was Russian disinformation. https://t.co/uStPS6GfRV pic.twitter.com/K5IgKwUwdY
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) April 30, 2022
Biden mentions 50 ex-natsec officials and 5 ex-CIA heads who believe that the laptop is a Russian influence op.
Trump declares “Russia, Russia and Russia.”
— Nina Jankowicz ???? (@wiczipedia) October 23, 2020
Jankowicz never claimed that the laptop story was Russian scheming. None of the intelligence experts have retracted their statements. (Editor’s note: Jankowicz tweetd last week, “If you believe that this tweet is the key to all of my views, it is just a direct quote from both candidates during their final presidential debate. If you look at the timeline, you’ll see that I was livetweeting this evening.”)
For those who believe this tweet is a key to all my views, it is simply a direct quote from both candidates during the final presidential debate. If you look at my timeline, you will see I was livetweeting that evening. https://t.co/nI7ZgBtTLC https://t.co/4DjBl9bzt0
— Nina Jankowicz ???? (@wiczipedia) April 27, 2022
She dismissed the idea that COVID-19 was leaked from a Wuhan, China lab, and called it a tool of former President Donald Trump.
“It becomes more politically convenient for Trump and his administration the further we get into this maelstrom, especially in comparison to the Chinese response,” Jankowicz told BuzzFeed News in 2020 in reference to the lab leak theory.
Jankowicz has also voiced her opposition to free speech via digital platforms.
“I shudder to think about if free speech absolutists were taking over platforms, what that would look like for the marginalized communities…which are already shouldering…disproportionate amounts of this abuse,” Jankowicz wrote in a tweet on April 25 regarding Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter.
Last week, I told @NPRMichel: I shudder to think about if free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms, what that would look like for the marginalized communities…which are already shouldering…disproportionate amounts of this abuse.” https://t.co/GLqMwC3iYH
— Nina Jankowicz ???? (@wiczipedia) April 25, 2022
However, Jankowicz said in 2020 that she was against the idea of governments targeting “fake news” when referring to the Trump administration during a congressional hearing.
The White House indicated its support for Jankowicz’s new role.
“We know that there has been a range of disinfo out there about a range of topics. I mean, including COVID, for example, and also elections and eligibility,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on April 28.
“I don’t have any comment on the laptop, but what I can tell you is that it sounds like the objective of the board is to prevent disinformation and misinformation from traveling around the country in a range of communities. I’m not sure who opposes that effort and I don’t know who this individual is, so I have no comment on it specifically,” Psaki said, adding that she didn’t have any information about Jankowicz and could check for more information on the new board.
Psaki was born the next day. said that Jankowicz is an “expert on online disinformation” and was “formerly a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center,” as well as an adviser to the Ukrainian foreign minister, among other roles.
“This is a person with extensive qualifications,” she added.
Jankowicz seems to have been a person other than her professional life. member of the “wizard rock” band called The Moaning Myrtles—named after a character in the “Harry Potter” book series. One of the group’s songs includes the phrase “nevertheless, I persisted”—a nod to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
The adrenaline rush of an adoring crowd comes second only to discovering that a Biden can’t draw a clock meme got 4 retweets in Tskhinvali. pic.twitter.com/5JJM0sJitK
— Ironic Effort Poster (@IronicEffort) September 26, 2020
Jankowicz didn’t respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request regarding the wizard rock band. An apparent band mate of Jankowicz also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
But her music performances don’t stop there. Jankowicz also took to the stage. TikTok to sing about the supposed dangers of unchecked disinformation.
Biden’s new “Minister of Truth” everybody: pic.twitter.com/wsRZFhTkl7
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 29, 2022
In another live performance, she appears as sing about “f—ing” her way to power.
Jankowicz didn’t respond to a request for comment about her background and past statements. DHS also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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