Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, slammed the Biden administration for its "dictatorship"-like move in creating a disinformation board.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a House Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday that the department was creating a new board designed to counter ''misinformation'' related to domestic security.
"Every dictatorship has a propaganda arm — a 'Ministry of Truth.' The Biden Administration has now formally joined the ranks of such dictatorships with their creation of the so-called ‘Disinformation Governance Board,’" Gabbard tweeted Friday morning.
The tweet also included a video clip in which Gabbard said: "The reason why you see this in dictatorships is because they’re afraid of us. They’re afraid of the people. They’re afraid that we might actually think for ourselves."
Gabbard, a former Democrat presidential candidate, said the DHS Disinformation Governance Board will "use taxpayer dollars to work through the mainstream media and flood the airwaves with whatever their propaganda narrative is that they’re pushing at any given time" and will "silence dissenting voices through intimidation."
Billionaire Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has rattled progressives who supported the social media platform's censorship of certain right-wing content. Musk on Tuesday said he opposed "censorship that goes far beyond the law."
A day earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment on Musk's deal to buy Twitter Inc, but said that President Joe Biden has been concerned about the power of social media platforms.
"Our concerns are not new," Psaki said. "The president has long talked about his concerns about the power of social media platforms, including Twitter and others, to spread misinformation."
The DHS Disinformation Governance Board will be headed by Wilson Center fellow Nina Jankowicz, who criticized rumors that Twitter had decided in early 2022 to stop limiting discussion surrounding alleged election fraud in the 2020 election, and also stated that the now-proven New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation.
"@ElonMusk: The fearful, hysterical reaction by those in power and their MSM [mainstream media] mouthpieces to all Americans being allowed to exercise our freedom of speech exposes their tyrannical tendencies, their fear of the American people, and their hate for our Constitution/Bill of Rights," Gabbard tweeted Wednesday.