Nina Jankowicz says its 'ironic' that disinformation board was 'taken over by disinformation'
Nina Jankowicz said on MSNBC Wednesday that it was "ironic" the disinformation board was "taken over by disinformation."
Nina Jankowicz received a musical sendoff following her resignation from a controversial post at the Department of Homeland Security.
The Washington Post broke the news Wednesday that DHS was putting a "pause" on its so-called "Disinformation Governance Board," which Jankowicz was tapped to lead. She has since left the Biden administration.
The initiative to combat disinformation was widely panned and compared to George Orwell's "Ministry of Truth" and critics roasted the appointment of Jankowicz for her own history of spreading "misinformation" and her viral social media posts like her infamous "Mary Poppins" parody.
Nina Jankowicz is the former executive director of the Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board. (@wiczipedia Twitter account)
Following the news of the board's shutdown, the "Ruthless" podcast kicked off its Thursday installment by unveiling a touching tribute to the outgoing truth czar.
"I will remember you," co-host Michael Duncan belted out the lyrics to Sarah McLachlan's hit 1993 song.
"Shoo-be bop, bop, bop, will you remember me?" Amanda Henneberg joined in, followed by John Ashbrook.
"Don't let your life pass you by, weep not for the memories," the "Ruthless" trio harmonized.
During the podcast, the "Ruthless" co-hosts panned the Washington Post's report on the DHS pause authored by left-wing columnist Taylor Lorenz, who framed the story as "How the Biden administration let right-wing attacks derail its disinformation efforts," claiming that Jankowicz "was the victim of coordinated online attacks."
"What the f--- is that?" Josh Holmes reacted.
"Like who the f--- is her editor?" Duncan asked.
Comfortably Smug insisted Jankowicz's "fingerprints" were all over the report to get her side of story out there and highlighted an excerpt where Lorenz wrote, "within hours of news of her appointment, Jankowicz was thrust into the spotlight by the very forces she dedicated her career to combating."
"That tells you the actual purpose of the ‘Ministry of Truth’ in the first place!" Smug exclaimed. "Was to go after anyone who criticizes this administration. That was the purpose. They gave it away."
"They gave it away. You're entirely right," Holmes agreed. "And Blippi gave it Taylor Lorenz."
Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz. (MSNBC)
Lorenz's reporting insists the board's downfall was the result of Jankowicz's role being "mischaracterized" and how she became "a primary target on the right-wing Internet," writing she had been "subject to an unrelenting barrage of harassment and abuse while unchecked misrepresentations of her work continue to go viral."
"Jankowicz’s experience is a prime example of how the right-wing Internet apparatus operates, where far-right influencers attempt to identify a target, present a narrative and then repeat mischaracterizations across social media and websites with the aim of discrediting and attacking anyone who seeks to challenge them. It also shows what happens when institutions, when confronted with these attacks, don’t respond effectively," Lorenz told readers.
"Those familiar with the board’s inner workings, including DHS employees and Capitol Hill staffers, along with experts on disinformation, say Jankowicz was set up to fail by an administration that was unsure of its messaging and unprepared to counteract a coordinated online campaign against her."
However, Lorenz sang a different tune on Twitter during an exchange with BuzzFeed News reporter Joe Bernstein.
"Two things can be true: Something can be subject to a loathsome bad faith right wing messaging operation and still be a horribly misconceived and underthought fiasco," Bernstein tweeted.
"yup, a disaster on all fronts," Lorenz reacted. "Thinking especially of the [people] on the Hill I talked to who work in this area and had to learn [about] this whole Board from a Politico newsletter blurb."
An image of Nina Jankowicz from Twitter and a hand scrolling through 'fake news' (Arkadiusz Warguła/iStock)
The Post's report was blasted on social media as over-the-top sugarcoating for what critics called a deeply flawed program with a problematic appointee at the top.
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Lorenz has repeatedly spoken out about being harassed online, even participating in an MSNBC interview last month when she said "the worst people on the internet" were trying to destroy her life. She recently came under fire for her report doxxing the woman behind the popular Libs of TikTok Twitter account.
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