WATCH: Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich Recites Supercalifragilistic Parody to Psaki at Briefing — And it Was Expialidocious

Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich treated White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and her colleagues to some bars from a song parody by misinformation czar Nina Jankowicz.

Jankowicz will head the newly-created Disinformation Governance Board at the Department of Homeland Security, over the objections of Republican senators who oppose its creation and other conservative critics who oppose  Jankowicz.

At Psaki’s briefing Friday, Heinrich asked Psaki for some more detail on the board and its chief, and drilled down on a parody of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious that Ms. Jankowicz performed on TikTok that has gone viral recently:

MS. HEINRICH: Is it though — I guess, can you describe what her job is going to be? Because there’s been some TikToks that she has put out, and it seems like rather than, you know, calling balls and strikes on “this, you know, story is false and this story — and here’s the truth on it,” one line stood out to me: “They’re laundering disinfo and we should really take note, and not support their lives with our wallet, voice, or vote.” So is —

MS. PSAKI: Well, here’s what the board is going to do, which I think is of particular interest — again, a continuation of the work of the former President. So for anyone who’s critical of it, I didn’t hear them being critical of the work under the former President, which is just interesting to note contextually.

But in the fact sheet that they put out, what they noted yesterday — what they noted in there is that this is meant to — one, the first bullet was about protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, and the First Amendment. They said the primary mission is to establish best practices to ensure that efforts to understand and respond to disinformation are done in ways that protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.

I’d also note that the first example they gave about what they’re going to do is support the Department of Homeland Security’s work — ongoing work, back to the former administration — on — to address how and understand how misinformation is spread by human smugglers that prey on vulnerable populations attempting to migrate to the United States.

There’s no question — everybody — that bipartisan support for that, to address disinformation that’s going — that’s helping smugglers pushing, helping people migrate or providing false information, prompting people to migrate.

So — and this is also work that is helping to address unauthorized — terrorism, other threats, and see how disinformation and misinformation is being pushed to lead — to increase those. So that’s all work — we think it’s work that’s been ongoing for some time. This is the form it’s taking. And there’s a fact sheet that details the specifics of it.

MS. HEINRICH: You just outlined a lot of, you know, efforts that sound very worthy, but you’ve got some from the Home- — the Department of Homeland Security telling people how they should vote. How do you explain that to critics who say “That doesn’t sound right to me”?

MS. PSAKI: This is an individual who will overse- — be overseeing the work of that board. Personnel decisions are up to the Department of Homeland Security. I just outlined the extensive history and background this individual has.

But I think what’s important to note here is what the board is doing, which is continuing what is important disinformation-related work that began under the former administration.

Critics have attacked the board as a “Ministry of Truth,” but here’s how the board’s mission is described in a press release announcing its launch:

Disinformation poses significant and increasing risks to homeland security, including by fueling terrorism and targeted violence. The spread of disinformation can affect border security, Americans’ safety during disasters, and public trust in our democratic institutions.

Recognizing this elevated threat and the need to ensure that we are leveraging our resources efficiently and responsibly, DHS created the Disinformation Governance Board (DGB), an intradepartmental body that will coordinate activities related to understanding and responding to disinformation with a nexus to homeland security. Through the DGB, DHS will ensure that all such efforts to address this type of disinformation are conducted in ways that protect privacy, civil rights, civil liberties, including free speech.

Protecting Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, and the First Amendment: The DGB’s primary mission is to establish best practices to ensure that efforts to understand and respond to disinformation are done in ways that protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, and the right to free speech.

• The DGB’s Initial Areas of Focus:
  Addressing Irregular Migration: The DGB is supporting DHS’s work to understand how misinformation spread by human smugglers that prey on vulnerable populations attempting to migrate to the United States. These smugglers, many of whom are part of transnational criminal organizations, make a profit by spreading false information that endangers lives.
• Protecting Critical Infrastructure: In February 2022, President Biden designated DHS to stand up a Unified Coordination Group (UCG) to ensure a unified federal response to domestic preparedness efforts related to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis. The DGB is supporting the UCG’s efforts to monitor and prepare for potential disinformation threats to put U.S. critical infrastructure at risk.

In tandem with these efforts, the DGB is reviewing the Department’s internal capabilities, resources, authorities, and programming, as well as streamlining and enhancing related relationships within other federal agencies, the private sector, and research community.

The DGB is co-led by the Office of Policy and the Office of the General Counsel and is composed of additional leaders from the Departments’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), Privacy Office (PRIV), and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL).

Watch above via The White House and AP.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!