White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged direct questions — twice — about the newly-announced Disinformation Governance Board and whether or not it would actively seek to censor stories that could be damaging to President Joe Biden and his administration.
Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy raised the question during Monday’s briefing, asking first whether or not President Biden was aware that the Department of Homeland Security was putting together the board.
Psaki pushed back, claiming that the board was simply a “continuation of work that was done under the prior administration” and arguing that the goal was to address the disinformation promoted by smugglers at the southern border.
Doocy: "Just in terms of what [Biden] wants out of this, does he want the people on this board to censoring information that is not helpful to him?
Psaki insists they're only "establish[ing] best practices" to ensure thwarting "disinformation" doesn't harm civil liberties pic.twitter.com/xe2uUQeQBp
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 2, 2022
“Just in terms of what the president wants out of this, does he want the people on this board to start censoring information that is not helpful to him?” Doocy asked.
Psaki did not engage his question directly, pivoting instead to explain what the board was tasked with doing.
“Well, let me be clear on exactly what this board does, or what the work they are doing does,” Psaki replied. “In their announcement, which is publicly available on the Department of Homeland Security website for anyone to read, it says, quote, ‘The primary mission is to establish best practices to ensure that efforts to understand and respond to disinformation are done in ways that protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, and the right to free speech.”
Doocy followed up with a question about Nina Jankowicz, who was tapped to lead the board.
Doocy: "Nina Jankowicz…is going to be in charge of the board. She has said…the Hunter Biden laptop is Russian disinformation. So, should we look forward…to her censoring internet traffic about the Hunter Biden laptop?"
Psaki insists Jankowicz is qualified for the job… pic.twitter.com/eUZPmPikEf
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 2, 2022
“This woman, Nina Jankowicz, who is going to be in charge of the board. She has said that she thinks the Hunter Biden laptop is Russian disinformation. So, should we look forward in the future to her censoring internet traffic about the Hunter Biden laptop?” he asked.
Psaki again skirted the direct question regarding censorship, saying that she had already explained what the board’s primary objective was supposed to be and again claiming that the Biden administration was only continuing work that began under former President Donald Trump.
“The woman you noted has extensive experience and has done extensive work addressing disinformation,” Psaki added. “She has testified before Congress, testified in Europe, she has done — worked closely with the Ukrainians and has unique expertise, especially at this moment we’re facing.”
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Source: Dailywire
