Tom Cotton Says Congress Should Ban Any Future Attempts at Disinformation Boards: ‘Good They Finally Came to Their Senses’

News that the Disinformation Governance  Board has been paused and its executive director, Nina Jankowicz has stepped down has been celebrated by critics of the barely three weeks-old effort, but Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) believes things should be going a step further.

In a Wednesday Fox News appearance on America Reports, the Arkansas senator said Congress “needs” to act to ban anything like the Disinformation Board from ever being put into motion again.

I’m glad to know the Orwellian Ministry of Truth is paused for the moment, but important to realize that it’s only paused because the American people found out about it,” Cotton told co-host John Roberts. “The government has no business refereeing disputes engaged in political campaigns or public debates. If you don’t like someone else’s speech, the answer is more speech.”

The Republican senator added that Congress must act in the weeks ahead as the Disinformation Board is going through an internal review.

“I think the Democrats often believe that disinformation and misinformation are simply facts that reflect poorly on Joe Biden and the Democratic party,” he said. “It’s good they finally came to their senses and paused this board, but Congress needs to act in the weeks ahead to make sure nothing like it can be created in the future.”

The White House confirmed on Wednesday afternoon earlier reports that the Disinformation Board had been paused and was under review. It was also reported in the original Washington Post story by Taylor Lorenz that controversial Nina Jankowicz, the self-described “Mary Poppins of Disinformation,” has resigned from her role as executive director with the barely-knew-you Board.

In Lorenz’s piece, she pointed to “right wing” attacks online, especially targeting Jankowicz as being partly behind the decision to pause the efforts of the board.

Cotton dismissed this idea, arguing many complaints about past tweets and videos by Jankowicz raised legitimate concerns about her leading any government efforts to combat disinformation.

“It’s not coordination or a campaign, that’s the citizens of a free country guarding their freedoms,” Cotton said.

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!