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So the Biden administration just set up a Disinformation Governance Board within the Department of Homeland Security.
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-bidens-disinformation-board-likened-orwells-ministry-truth-1702190
The board's actual duties and influence aren't exactly known at this time, but Psaki was quoted as saying the following;
Psaki said she couldn't provide many details other than saying the bureau would monitor misinformation on topics such as COVID-19 and elections.
The GOP, and others, have immediately leapt on this, calling the board the Ministry of Truth, which I'm hopeful everyone is familiar with from the novel 1984 (my favorite book btw, the ending was just perfect). If not, in short, it's an organ of the totalitarian Ingsoc government in which the "truth" is changed on a daily basis to fit the current party agenda. Old facts are discarded into "memory holes" and a new "truth" is created.
Now, I will allow that such comparisons are hyperbolic, at least for now, as the actual duties of the board are not publicly know. What I will say is that two things really trouble me. One, and by far the most important, is that this was formed within a law enforcement agency. This on its own is extremely concerning. Why would an organization designed, ostensibly, to identify, or combat disinformation, need to be an extension of law enforcement unless you plan to use them to enforce your findings? The implications are troubling at the very least. Secondly, the person they hired to head the board is an extremely partisan actor who was instrumental in labeling stories such as the Hunter Biden laptop stories as "disinformation" which has subsequently been proven to be false.
I certainly hope the current outrage is an overreaction, but I fear that it is not. At the very least the optics of this move are horrible. Musk buys Twitter and literally within a week you announce this new board? As one post I read stated, it appears to be a reaction to losing their primary source of controlling the flow of information. While this is likely not true, I hope, again the optics of it are just mind numbingly bad. This issue, exaggerated or not, is going to, IMO, bury the Dems even deeper in November.
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Qanon
1/6
Hydroxychloroquine & Ivermectin
1/6 being biggest threat to homeland security
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Aren't law enforcement agencies infallible, SSF?
I find no flaw in this plan - I've been convinced law enforcement agencies have been made into boogeymen and are in fact the last bastion of safety against the barbarian hordes that await us.
In all seriousness, this is sketch at best.
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(04-29-2022, 04:23 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Qanon
1/6
Hydroxychloroquine & Ivermectin
1/6 being biggest threat to homeland security
You literally could not have posted a more predictable defense of this. Please don't ever wonder why the left is losing the public perception war.
(04-29-2022, 04:44 PM)BigPapaKain Wrote: Aren't law enforcement agencies infallible, SSF?
I've literally never said or inferred this.
Quote:I find no flaw in this plan - I've been convinced law enforcement agencies have been made into boogeymen and are in fact the last bastion of safety against the barbarian hordes that await us.
I've literally never said this, but I have, correctly, argued against the inaccurate, and deliberate, demonization of law enforcement.
Quote:In all seriousness, this is sketch at best.
The rest of your post makes me unsure of how to interpret this last bit.
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(04-29-2022, 04:54 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: You literally could not have posted a more predictable defense of this. Please don't ever wonder why the left is losing the public perception war.
Confusing reply. So you think Qanon, 1/6, and Covid disinformation makes the left look bad?
So I believe in American exceptionalism. I think the vast resources at the disposal of our federal government should mean we are able to protect our citizens. And the government should be a free source of factual information.
Qanon is a right wing movement. 1/6 was a right wing movement. Covid misinformation appeared to find most of its believers on the right.
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(04-29-2022, 05:06 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Confusing reply. So you think Qanon, 1/6, and Covid disinformation makes the left look bad?
Not sure how you could have come to that conclusion. What I am saying is that none of them justify setting up what it appears has been done here.
Quote:So I believe in American exceptionalism. I think the vast resources at the disposal of our federal government should mean we are able to protect our citizens. And the government should be a free source of factual information.
Oh, I agree, they should be a free source of factual information. What they should not be, simply by dint of the Constitution, is deciding what is true and what is not. I'm honestly confused as to how you're not understanding the potential problem here.
Quote:Qanon is a right wing movement. 1/6 was a right wing movement. Covid misinformation appeared to find most of its believers on the right.
All of which is utterly irrelevant to the topic of this thread. But thanks?
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(04-29-2022, 05:23 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Not sure how you could have come to that conclusion. What I am saying is that none of them justify setting up what it appears has been done here.
Oh, I agree, they should be a free source of factual information. What they should not be, simply by dint of the Constitution, is deciding what is true and what is not. I'm honestly confused as to how you're not understanding the potential problem here.
All of which is utterly irrelevant to the topic of this thread. But thanks?
Where in the constitution does it say the government is powerless against psychological warfare?
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(04-29-2022, 05:53 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Where in the constitution does it say the government is powerless against psychological warfare?
You disappoint me. You swore an oath to defend it and you don't even know what's in it? I'll give you a hint, skip to The Bill of Rights. You should get your answer really quick.
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(04-29-2022, 06:09 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: You disappoint me. You swore an oath to defend it and you don't even know what's in it? I'll give you a hint, skip to The Bill of Rights. You should get your answer really quick.
Still not seeing it. Maybe you can be more specific.
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(04-29-2022, 06:20 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Still not seeing it. Maybe you can be more specific.
At this point I don't think it would help. But, again, thanks for trying.
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(04-29-2022, 06:26 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: At this point I don't think it would help. But, again, thanks for trying.
Didn't think so
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It's very interesting how much I have grown to like and agree, most of the time, with Glenn Greenwald. He was the main journalist who broke/covered the Snowden story and I could not have disagreed with him more at that time. It seems liberals who have become increasingly delusional with what constitutes "the left" is hardly confined to just myself.
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1519858132775751680
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(04-29-2022, 06:30 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Didn't think so
Sorry, you can't claim victory in a debate you didn't participate in. But, again, thanks for trying.
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I see why it scares you. Right wing mainstream media has already branded it the scary ministry of truth.
As a LEO. Being concerned about law enforcement monitoring misinformation that could lead to, who knows lets say an assault on the capital, doesn't make much sense to me.
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(04-29-2022, 06:38 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: I see why it scares you.
It should scare anyone.
Quote:Right wing mainstream media has already branded it the scary ministry of truth.
True, and they are hardly the only ones.
Quote:As a LEO. Being concerned about law enforcement monitoring misinformation that could lead to, who knows lets say an assault on the capital, doesn't make much sense to me.
I'm rather surprised I have to relate this to you, but law enforcement already monitors that kind of thing. Since you're persisting I'll invite you to participate honestly. You don't see any issue with a government agency being tasked to determine officially, with the weight of the federal government, what is true and what is false? Before you answer that question, kindly ponder the following. What would you think about this if Trump was the one who set this department up?
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(04-29-2022, 06:52 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: It should scare anyone.
True, and they are hardly the only ones.
I'm rather surprised I have to relate this to you, but law enforcement already monitors that kind of thing. Since you're persisting I'll invite you to participate honestly. You don't see any issue with a government agency being tasked to determine officially, with the weight of the federal government, what is true and what is false? Before you answer that question, kindly ponder the following. What would you think about this if Trump was the one who set this department up?
Believe it or not, I believe in America and have faith that we have LEOs capable of discerning fact from fiction. Especially when there are settled court cases and official results for topics involved. And I believe they are capable of recognizing when fiction creates a danger to the public.
From your link
"DHS began its work on disinformation several years ago. The Department has created the Disinformation Governance Board to ensure this work does not infringe on the fundamental right of free speech and to further protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties," the statement read. "To provide this protection, the Board will coordinate the Department's internal activities related to disinformation that poses a threat to homeland security."
And no. A pathological lying, serial sexual assaulter, traitor, conman setting up a ministry of truth (cough truth social cough) is the type of red flag to watch out for.
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(04-29-2022, 04:54 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: The rest of your post makes me unsure of how to interpret this last bit.
The first bit of my post was simple teasing. I never meant to imply you said any of that in any serious way.
The whole thing is sketchy.
While I believe we should have something to combat the massive amount of misinformation out there, using any enforcement agency reeks of political prisoners incoming.
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Let's see what powers they actually have before we go losing our minds about it. If it's function is to gather and report information then it could very well end up serving as a valuable tool for informing legislation.
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(04-29-2022, 07:25 PM)BigPapaKain Wrote: The first bit of my post was simple teasing. I never meant to imply you said any of that in any serious way.
The whole thing is sketchy.
While I believe we should have something to combat the massive amount of misinformation out there, using any enforcement agency reeks of political prisoners incoming.
That's a pretty big escalation there. From monitoring misinformation to political prisoners.
I imagined it as more of a readiness thing. Being aware of misinformation movements and acting to protect the public from health, safety, or security risks.
Covering all the way from stuff like a tiktok challenge https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/department-of-homeland-security-on-tiktok-challenge-remain-alert
to maybe stopping someone brainwashed form a bunch of lies going batshit crazy https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-houston-police-captain-mark-aguirre-assault-bogus-election-fraud-scheme/
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(04-29-2022, 06:52 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: What would you think about this if Trump was the one who set this department up?
Well their factory setting would have them label it racist to start. Who knows what kind of tailspin the screeching would go into from there.
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