Biden 'disinformation czar' Nina Jankowicz forms group to combat backlash against 'disinformation research'

Nina Jankowicz, former head of the Biden administration's scrapped Disinformation Governance Board, has established a new nonprofit organization aimed at exposing and opposing campaigns that undermine research into disinformation threats facing the United States.

In a press release, Jankowicz declared that the "campaign against counter-disinformation work is the greatest threat to freedom of expression and academic integrity since the McCarthy era." Her group, the American Sunlight Project, pledges not to "allow it to continue," reports the Daily Wire.

"Once researchers are free to conduct their essential work, the American people will gain a better understanding of the nature and severity of the disinformation threats we face," Jankowicz stated, insisting that "disinformation knows no political party" and that "its ultimate victim is our democracy."

The bipartisan advocacy organization, co-founded by Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos, plans to investigate the networks and funding driving disinformation campaigns while educating the public about the dangers posed by such efforts. Its initial focus will be on "countering the organized campaign currently challenging the work of disinformation researchers."

The group's advisory board includes Katie Harbath, a former Facebook executive, Emily Horne, an ex-National Security Council official, Ineke Mushovic of the LGBTQ advocacy group Movement Advancement Project, and Ben Wittes of the Brookings Institution, once described as the "bard of the deep state."

Álvarez-Aranyos claimed that "organized campaigns are preventing us from researching and understanding the threat of disinformation and organization an appropriate national response," vowing to "break the deadlocks holding us back."

Jankowicz's previous role heading the Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board sparked concerns over civil liberties, leading to its disbandment in 2022 after pushback from 20 state attorneys general. She maintains that criticism of the board itself constituted misinformation.

The new group has already taken issue with the House Judiciary Committee's release of excerpts from "misinformation experts'" testimony, alleging it has made them "targets for harassment." Additionally, the organization highlighted "AI-generated images of former President Trump posing with Black voters" as "real, present-day threats to American democracy."