Nina Jankowicz, who was appointed to lead the Department of Homeland Security’s new Disinformation Governance Board, resigned from the DHS on Wednesday.
The decision follows weeks of criticism against Jankowicz from conservatives who are determined to uphold free speech in America, as well as broad conservative criticism of Biden’s new “Ministry of Truth”.
“With the Board’s work paused and its future uncertain, and [sic] I have decided to leave DHS to return to my work in the public sphere,” Jankowicz said in a statement. “It is deeply disappointing that mischaracterizations of the Board became a distraction from the Department’s vital work.“
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Jankowicz’s swift resignation comes after The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the DHS had “paused” the Board’s activities amid the backlash. In a statement to Insider, the DHS said the Board will remain on pause as the Homeland Security Advisory Council conducts a “thorough review and assessment” in an effort to improve the Board’s transparency, public trust, and ability to fight disinformation. The DHS also claimed the Board has been “grossly and intentionally mischaracterized” in its statement.
While Jankowicz was celebrated by the left, her dubious history and troubling social media usage was criticized by conservatives who combed through her social media history to highlight clips such as her singing a misinformation-themed “Mary Poppins” song on TikTok and exposing her as a biased ideologue vowing to end free speech in America.
Sara Aniano, an ally of Jankowicz who researches extremism and disinformation, claimed that Jankowicz was forced to resign because of her gender.
“It’s unfortunate that something that she was chosen to do, because of this very issue, is the same reason why she’s stepped back,” said Aniano. “I mean, I get it. I understand as a female in this space. I saw the harassment from the get-go towards her.”
“They would really have had to knock this out of the park for it to be truly effective,” Aniano said “Not only is that not happening, but it seems that they’ve started to succumb to the very thing that they wanted to help prevent, which is misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories.”
