<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13970404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nina-jankowicz" source="Orion">Nina Jankowicz</keyword> decried the demise of a government board tasked with investigating <keyword id="11948912" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disinformation" source="Orion">disinformation</keyword>.</li><li>Jankowicz, who was director of the board, said "we're in a really bleak situation here in this country."</li></ul>The former head of a now defunct federal agency board tasked with confronting propaganda warns that the spread of disinformation poses a national security risk to the US and decried the lack of a "mature" discussion on the subject."I think we're in a really bleak situation here in this country," Nina Jankowicz told The New York Times in an interview published Wednesday morning about the <keyword id="13148364" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="department-of-homeland-security" source="Orion">Department of Homeland Security</keyword> board's demise.The <keyword id="11908406" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="biden-administration" source="Orion">Biden Administration</keyword> sparked a conservative firestorm in April when it announced the formation of the Disinformation Governance Board, a group within <keyword id="11912682" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dhs" source="Orion">DHS</keyword> that would coordinate the department's response to false information intended to deceive people. There were concerns that this board would slap a disinfo label on American political commentators, especially those in the US far-right who have pushed baseless election fraud theories that failed in courts.Beyond the US, Russian disinformation has been a particular concern.Moscow has for years tried to spread lies about the US' investment in <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/02/25/fact-check-claim-us-biolabs-ukraine-disinformation/6937923001/">Ukrainian biomedical facilities, a claim that received renewed attention after Russia's invasion.</a> The State Department has recently accused the Kremlin of spreading disinformation about the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-says-russian-disinformation-campaign-blames-west-for-food-crisis-2022-6">global food crisis that the invasion sparked.</a>Jankowicz, a noted expert in disinformation, was named head of the board."The right recognizes it is a way to whip up people in a furor," Jankowicz told the Times. "The problem is there are very real national security issues here, and not being able to talk about this in a mature way is a real disservice to the country."<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-hosts-tucker-carlson-sean-hannity-rage-against-new-government-disinformation-board">Fox News pundits</a> and some Republican lawmakers assailed the board and <a href="https://www.insider.com/disinformation-governance-board-dhs-right-misinformation-homeland-security-russia-2022-5">misleadingly compared it to George Orwell's "Ministry of Truth."</a> In reality, the board didn't really have the power to do much beyond flagging accounts they concluded were false. But the notion of a federal watchdog trying to sift truth from falsehood led to concern among civil liberties groups <a href="https://twitter.com/aclu/status/1522377607324520448?lang=en">like the ACLU.</a> In May, the board was put on "pause" and Jankowicz formally resigned. Jankowicz herself became the subject of intense ire.Some of it poked fun at her past TikToks where she rewrote the words to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" with a disinformation theme. As The Washington Post's Taylor Lorenz <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/18/disinformation-board-dhs-nina-jankowicz/">previously pointed out,</a> the harassment went further than that and included misleading suggestions that Jankowicz was just trying to get rich.

Ex-head of DHS disinformation board warns the US is 'in a really bleak situation'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13970404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nina-jankowicz" source="Orion">Nina Jankowicz</keyword> resigned from the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.</li><li>She had been chosen to lead the <keyword id="11948912" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disinformation" source="Orion">Disinformation</keyword> Governance Board, sparking outcry from conservatives.</li></ul>Nina Jankowicz, the author and researcher appointed to lead the Department of Homeland Security's new Disinformation Governance Board, resigned from the <keyword id="11912682" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dhs" source="Orion">DHS</keyword> on Wednesday, representatives for Jankowicz told Insider. The decision follows weeks of targeted harassment against Jankowicz from right-wing critics, as well as broad conservative criticism of the anti-misinformation initiative."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 emailed to Insider via a spokesperson. "It is deeply disappointing that mischaracterizations of the Board became a distraction from the Department's vital work."Jankowicz's departure comes after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/18/disinformation-board-dhs-nina-jankowicz/">The Washington Post</a> first reported on Wednesday that the DHS had paused the Board's activities and suspended working groups centered around dis-, mis-, and mal-information amid the criticism. The Board will remain on pause as the Homeland Security Advisory Council conducts a "thorough review and assessment" related to improving the Board's transparency, public trust, and ability to fight disinformation, the DHS said in a statement to Insider.The DHS said the Board has been "grossly and intentionally mischaracterized" in its statement.Right-wing pundits and media influencers specifically targeted Jankowicz, combing through her social media history to mock clips such as her singing a misinformation-themed "Mary Poppins" song on TikTok and framing her as a biased ideologue bent on censorship. Far-right forums soon became filled with violent and misogynist attacks against her."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," Sara Aniano, a disinformation and extremism researcher, told Insider of Jankowicz's resignation. "I mean, I get it. I understand as a female in this space. I saw the harassment from the get-go towards her."Since the Board was announced at the close of April, conservative influencers and Republican politicians <a href="https://www.insider.com/disinformation-governance-board-dhs-right-misinformation-homeland-security-russia-2022-5">framed the project</a> as an attempt from the Biden administration to install an Orwellian "Ministry of Truth." The board was disparaged by a slew of prominent conservatives, from Fox <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword> host Tucker Carlson and far-right conspiracist Jordan Sather to Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kevin McCarthy. Despite repeated attempts from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/05/01/disinformation-governance-board-alejandro-mayorkas-bash-sotu-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/">the DHS</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/02/technology/partisan-dhs-disinformation-board.html">the White House</a> to clarify <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/05/02/fact-sheet-dhs-internal-working-group-protects-free-speech-other-fundamental-rights">the Board's purpose</a> — to counter misinformation from abroad, including malicious attacks targeting migrants and Russian disinformation — the unfounded rhetoric from critics continued.The DHS initially decided to shut down the Board entirely on Monday following the backlash, but changed tack and gave Jankowicz the possibility of staying on as the Board's work was paused, according to The Washington Post, which cited sources close to the project.The board's shaky rollout and the immediate right wing uproar put it on unsteady footing from the start. Aniano previously told Insider she was skeptical of the Board's future and that it would have to do excellent work or else "the initiative will fail, because people are already very wary on the right of government oversight and overreach."Now that the board's future is uncertain, Aniano said there is even more pressure to produce valuable work and salvage the government's flailing disinformation initiative. "They would really have had to knock this out of the park for it to be truly effective," Aniano told Insider after Jankowicz's resignation. "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."

Nina Jankowicz resigns from the DHS after Disinformation Governance Board is put on 'pause' following right-wing backlash

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Department of <keyword id="12048202" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="homeland-security" source="Orion">Homeland Security</keyword> announced a "disinformation" board last week, prompting criticism.</li><li>Secretary of Homeland Security <keyword id="12404117" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="alejandro-mayorkas" source="Orion">Alejandro Mayorkas</keyword> said the board will not monitor US citizens.</li></ul>Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday the agency could have done a better job communicating its newly announced Disinformation Governance Board.The board was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-immigration-media-europe-misinformation-4e873389889bb1d9e2ad8659d9975e9d">announced</a> on Wednesday and is intended to counter <keyword id="11919168" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="misinformation" source="Orion">misinformation</keyword> that poses a national security concern, such as Russian disinformation or misinformation spread to migrants by smugglers."The spread of disinformation can affect border security, Americans' safety during disasters, and public trust in our democratic institutions," DHS said in a statement to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-immigration-media-europe-misinformation-4e873389889bb1d9e2ad8659d9975e9d">The Associated Press</a>.The disinformation board drew <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-calls-dhs-disinformation-board-an-april-fools-joke-2022-4">swift criticism from conservatives</a>, sparking concerns over policing speech. Some drew comparisons to the "Ministry of Truth" from George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984."Mayorkas addressed some of those concerns in an interview on Sunday with <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-mayorkas-interview-i-respectfully-disagree-with-the-criticism-from-democrats-over-title-42-139042373616">NBC's "Meet the Press."</a>"We could have done a better job of communicating what it is and what it isn't," Mayorkas said of the board, adding that "it's a working group" that will look at best practices to address "disinformation that presents a threat to the security of our country" in way that doesn't "infringe on free speech" or "on civil liberties."Those best practices will then be shared with US officials who have operational authority to combat such threats. He said the board itself will not have any "operational authority."Host Chuck Todd asked about the controversial decision to have Nina Jankowicz lead the board. Jankowicz, a disinformation expert, has been accused of having a political bias.Mayorkas said she was an "eminently qualified individual" and a "recognized expert on battling the threat of disinformation that presents a threat to the security of our homeland from Russia, from China, from Iran, from the cartels."Mayorkas also appeared on <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/05/01/disinformation-governance-board-alejandro-mayorkas-bash-sotu-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/">CNN</a> to address concerns about the board and said it would not monitor American citizens, adding that it's a continuation of work Homeland Security has been doing since before the Biden administration.

Homeland Security head says they 'could have done a better job' explaining the 'disinformation' board

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The DHS' newly announced <keyword id="11948912" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disinformation" source="Orion">Disinformation</keyword> Governance Board has sparked backlash from the right.</li><li>Right-wing politicians and pundits have misleadingly framed the group as a propaganda arm.</li></ul>The Department of Homeland Security's recently announced "Disinformation Governance Board" has faced intense backlash from right-wing politicians and pundits, who have misleadingly claimed that the <keyword id="60973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="biden" source="Orion">Biden</keyword> administration is attempting to form an Orwellian "Ministry of Truth." Although the initiative's <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/05/02/fact-sheet-dhs-internal-working-group-protects-free-speech-other-fundamental-rights">stated missio</a>n is to combat malicious information from abroad, including misinformation targeting migrants and Russian disinformation, conservative influencers and politicians like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have framed the board as a dystopian attack on free speech. Other Republican representatives such as Lauren Boebert, Andrew Clyde, and Ben Cline have similarly piled on. Numerous other conservative influencers—from Fox <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword> host Tucker Carlson to far-right conspiracists like Jordan Sather and Jim Watkins—have also attacked the board using similar rhetoric.Sara Aniano, a disinformation and extremism researcher, told Insider that right wing politicians and pundits have previously called a variety of anti-misinformation initiatives "Orwellian," including against "arguments for content moderation on the platform level." The scrutiny and criticism that the initiative already faces is likely to put additional pressure on its operations.If the board doesn't "do a stellar job," Aniano said, "then the initiative will fail, because people are already very wary on the right of government oversight and overreach" related to free-speech.In <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/05/01/disinformation-governance-board-alejandro-mayorkas-bash-sotu-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/">a CNN interview</a> on Sunday, DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attempted to refute the criticism and said the board is a "small working group" with no "operational authority or capability." He acknowledged that the rollout was contentious and said "we probably could have done a better job of communicating" the board's purpose. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/02/technology/partisan-dhs-disinformation-board.html">defended the initiative</a> on Monday and said it was an extension of work previously done by the DHS' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The DHS <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/05/02/fact-sheet-dhs-internal-working-group-protects-free-speech-other-fundamental-rights">released a statement</a> on Monday clarifying the group's role, and said the "DHS is exploring additional ways to enhance the public's trust in this important work."But that hasn't quelled the attacks. Boebert, who has expressed support for conspiracies including QAnon, led 61 other House representatives in <a href="https://boebert.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-boebert-introduces-bill-terminate-department-homeland-securitys-0">introducing a bill</a> to terminate the working group and block federal funds from being used to establish any similar kind of operation on Tuesday. Boebert alluded to Orwell's book in a statement about the bill and called the initiative a "Department of Propaganda."Kayla Gogarty, an Associate Researcher Director at Media Matters, told Insider that it's "no surprise that right-wing media and personalities responded to news of the board" with baseless criticism."Conservatives push bad-faith attacks under the guise of 'free speech' in response to anything that they perceive will stymie their ability to push falsehoods and conspiracy theories," Gogarty said. "Fearmongering about the board is just a page out of conservatives' playbook."The right-wing critics have especially honed in on Nina Jankowicz, the researcher and author appointed by President Joe Biden to lead the working group. Many conservative influencers and politicians are claiming without evidence that Jankowicz would act with bias or censor right-wing speech. Some have spread <a href="https://twitter.com/wiczipedia/status/1362153807879303171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1362153807879303171%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Fwhite-house-disinformation-nina-jankowicz-tiktok">a clip of Jankowicz singing</a> an edited version of a "Mary Poppins" song she posted on TikTok in early 2021."They are just pulling out everything and anything they can," Aniano said of the attack on Jankowicz.Aniano said the initiative could be valuable if it can get off the ground and make a positive impact, but that it's unclear as of now how the working group will take shape. Aniano is also curious to see if the working group will deal with average American citizens who are spreading dis- and misinformation, because "the focus is almost always on foreign interference, but we do have to look at how it's manifested at a local and nationwide level.""I'll believe it when I see it," Aniano said of the board. "Once meaningful change happens, then maybe we'll say that it was a successful endeavor."

Biden's Disinformation Governance Board faces conservative attacks after messy rollout, but experts say it's no 'Ministry of Truth'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Putin made a number of bogus and farcical claims when justifying his attack on <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.</li><li>He said he wanted to prevent a "genocide," protect Russian speakers, and aim for the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine.</li></ul>Russian President <keyword id="11899444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vladimir-putin" source="Orion">Vladimir Putin</keyword> made a brazen declaration when announcing an unprovoked military assault on Ukraine on Thursday.In addition to calling on Ukrainian forces to lay down their weapons and warning other countries from interfering, Putin said he was acting to prevent a genocide against Russian-speakers and aiming for the "demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine."It was a farcical and unfounded statement for a host of reasons.For one, there's no evidence of a genocide being carried out in Ukraine. As the <a href="https://www.state.gov/fact-vs-fiction-russian-disinformation-on-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US State Department</a>, <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putins-absurd-genocide-claims-cannot-hide-his-war-crimes-in-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">former Ukrainian diplomats</a>, and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/russia-uses-disinformation-on-ukraine-military-aggressions-as-a-pretext-for-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">experts on information warfare</a> have pointed out, Putin makes this claim to aid in a broader disinformation campaign aimed at creating a pretext to invade Ukraine, a sovereign and democratic nation."We have no evidence of Ukrainian aggression or, as Putin talked about in his speech the other day, of — quote, unquote — 'genocide' by the Ukrainian army," Nina Jankowicz, a fellow at the Wilson Center studying eastern Europe, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/russia-uses-disinformation-on-ukraine-military-aggressions-as-a-pretext-for-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told PBS News</a>. "There's just no evidence that any of this exists."Putin's claim that he ordered a military offensive against Ukraine to protect Russian-speakers also has no basis in reality. Among other things, Ukraine's president himself <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190416-russian-speakers-ukraine-candidate-talking-language" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speaks Russian as his native language</a> and spoke in it a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zelensky-appeals-peace-but-our-people-will-fight-if-attacked-2022-2">moving appeal</a> to Russian citizens on Wednesday. In fact, this facet of his upbringing was a key factor that propelled <keyword id="11985142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="volodymyr-zelensky" source="Orion">Volodymyr Zelensky</keyword> to victory in Ukraine's election back in 2019; <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190416-russian-speakers-ukraine-candidate-talking-language" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to France 24</a>, Zelensky enjoyed particularly strong support in Ukraine's Russian-speaking regions.The Russian president's claim that he's working toward the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine is also nonsense because Zelensky, who was democratically elected to office in 2019 following a free and fair election, is Jewish. Zelensky referenced Putin's accusations on Wednesday <a href="https://twitter.com/antontroian/status/1496622445045891072?s=20&amp;t=MEid-giuMZa1RkSXFmd_hA">saying in an impassioned and emotional appeal to Russia's people:</a> "You are told we are Nazis, but how can a people support Nazis that gave more than 8 million lives for the victory over Nazism? How can I be a Nazi? Tell my grandpa, who went through the whole war in the infantry of the Soviet Army and died as a colonel in independent Ukraine."Steven Pifer, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, also derided Putin's claim. "In his attempt to justify the unjustifiable, #Russia's assault on #Ukraine, Putin referred to a fictional genocide &amp; set goal of 'denazification of Ukraine,' a country that overwhelmingly elected a Jew president," Pifer said in a tweet.Though Putin's claims of genocide in eastern Ukraine were demonstrably outlandish, they're also part of a playbook the Russian president has repeatedly used before.When justifying <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s military actions against Ukraine in 2014, Putin claimed to be protecting ethnic Russians. Russia in 2014 invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea, and in the years since supported rebels in a war against Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region. The US at the time categorically rejected Putin's claims that ethnic Russians were under threat. "What's happening there is not based on actual concern for Russian nationals or Russian speakers inside of Ukraine, but is based on Russia seeking, through force, to exert influence on a neighboring country. That is not how international law is supposed to operate," President Barack Obama <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2014/03/04/obama-putins-moves-are-not-a-sign-of-strength/">said</a> of the situation in Ukraine at the time.Putin in 2008 also accused Georgia of genocide in South Ossetia, even though there <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-georgia-russia-report/georgia-started-war-with-russia-eu-backed-report-idUSTRE58T4MO20090930">wasn't evidence</a> to back up the allegation. Russia invaded Georgia that year and continues to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-quietly-seizing-territory-in-georgia-10-years-after-the-war-2018-8">occupy South Ossetia and Abkhazia</a>, territories recognized as part of Georgia by the international community. The European court of human rights in early 2021 ruled that Russia committed human rights violations in the war, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/21/russia-human-rights-violation-georgia-war-echr-ruling" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">including the murder of Georgian civilians.</a>In a speech to the United Nations Security Council last Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose stepfather was a Holocaust survivor, warned that Russia would "manufacture a pretext for its attack.""Russia may describe this event as ethnic cleansing or a genocide, making a mockery of a concept that we in this chamber do not take lightly, nor do I do take lightly based on my family history," Blinken added.A week later, Putin proved Blinken right.

Putin tried to justify his war against Ukraine by calling for the 'de-Nazification' of a democratic country led by a Jewish president

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> measures how posts on its platform could lead to real-world <keyword id="6355987" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Violence">violence</keyword> through an internal tool that tracks "violence and incitement trends," <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-internal-metric-violence-incitement-rising-vote?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4">BuzzFeed News</a> reported Thursday.</li><li>The metric, which analyzes potentially dangerous search terms and hashtags, has spiked 45% during the week of the election, according to BuzzFeed News.</li><li>Facebook has taken actions against a number of accounts, posts, and groups for spreading election <keyword id="535763" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Misinformation">misinformation</keyword> and calling for violence, but some things are still slipping through the cracks.</li><li>Facebook has also repeatedly been accused of helping fuel real-world violence around the world — from ethnic cleanings in Myanmar to shootings of anti-police-brutality protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.</li></ul>For years, misinformation researchers, civil and human rights groups, nongovernmental organizations, governments, journalists, and everyday users have tried to alert Facebook to instances of its platform being used to incite real-world violence.On Thursday, <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-internal-metric-violence-incitement-rising-vote?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4">BuzzFeed News</a> reported that Facebook is also tracking those instances through an internal metric called "violence and incitement trends," and that, as President Donald Trump's close allies <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-twitter-youtube-scramble-moderate-trump-bannon-violent-threats-2020-11?r=ts-sub">openly call for violence</a> over the election results, those trends are surging.The metric analyzes hashtags and search terms used across Facebook over the past five days to churn out a score that estimates the likelihood of potential real-world violence — and that scored climbed 45%, from 400 to 580, during election week, according to BuzzFeed News.Employees' discussion of the terms that have been spiking in popularity recently, such as #DrainTheSwamp, #Trump2020, and #KeepAmericaGreat as well as QAnon affiliated hashtags, implied that Facebook has taken steps to suppress some potentially dangerous trends, but also that there are many gray area terms that don't explicitly call for violence but still could be correlated with real-world harm.Facebook did not respond to a request for comment on this story, but a spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that Facebook is "staying vigilant in detecting content that could incite violence during this time of heightened uncertainty."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-twitter-youtube-scramble-moderate-trump-bannon-violent-threats-2020-11?r=ts-sub">Facebook has been racing this week</a> to remove or limit the spread of content that violates its policies against election misinformation or inciting violence, but it hasn't always been able to catch violations before they go viral.Despite temporarily <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ahead-of-us-election-facebook-suspends-political-and-new-group-recommendations-2020-10">turning off political group recommendations</a> leading up to the election, Facebook allowed a group that made false election claims and 'worrying calls for violence' to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-group-stop-the-steal-removed-election-fraud-calls-violence-2020-11?r=ts-sub">amass more than 365,000 members organically</a> in just two days before it removed the group.Facebook has faced increasing pressure both internally and externally to take more aggressive action on misinformation, especially around the election, and the company has rolled out a slew of new policies and tactics in recent months.Facebook has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10112270823363411">tightened its rules</a> against voter suppression and intimidation (including calls to violence), <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/10/removing-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-mexico-iran-myanmar/">cracked down on disinformation networks</a>, and spun up its <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/18/17991924/facebook-election-war-room-misinformation-fake-news-whatsapp">election operations center</a>, which has been be actively working with law enforcement to spot foreign influence efforts. Facebook has also rolled out a system for flagging posts for review by moderators <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/10/preparing-for-election-day/">before they go viral</a>, temporarily <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-suspended-group-recommendations-election">turned off political group recommendations</a>, and continues to enlist <a href="https://www.facebook.com/journalismproject/programs/third-party-fact-checking">third-party fact checkers</a>.Even with these changes, however, misinformation researchers remain skeptical that Facebook is dealing with the issue effectively."I'm not sure they have a handle on it at all," Nina Jankowicz, a researcher at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told BuzzFeed News, saying that suppressing hashtags is an inadequate way to deal with violent-prone groups because the root cause is Facebook's business model, which relies on keeping these types of groups using its platform in the first place.Facebook also has a long history of being accused of contributing to, and even exacerbating real-world violence, from helping <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html">fuel genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar</a> to refusing to take action against groups openly calling for violence against anti-police-brutality protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where three were eventually fatally shot — despite <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-warned-about-kenosha-guard-group-before-shooting-2020-8#:~:text=Facebook%20was%20warned%20by%20multiple,Wednesday%20and%20Business%20Insider%20confirmed.">receiving hundreds of warnings from users</a>.

You Searched For "nina jankowicz" and got 6 results

Ex-head of DHS disinformation board warns the US is 'in a really bleak situation'

Brent D. Griffiths

Nina Jankowicz resigns from the DHS after Disinformation Governance Board is put on 'pause' following right-wing backlash

Kieran Press-Reynolds

Homeland Security head says they 'could have done a better job' explaining the 'disinformation' board

Kelsey Vlamis

Biden's Disinformation Governance Board faces conservative attacks after messy rollout, but experts say it's no 'Ministry of Truth'

Kieran Press-Reynolds

Putin tried to justify his war against Ukraine by calling for the 'de-Nazification' of a democratic country led by a Jewish president

Sonam Sheth,John Haltiwanger

Facebook reportedly measures 'violence and incitement trends' — and it spiked by 45% during the week of the election

Tyler Sonnemaker