"Earlier this month, the State Department announced that it was instructing U.S. embassy staff around the world to reject work visa applications from individuals involved in what it described as "censorship" of Americans' speech online. In a cable that was first leaked to Reuters, consular officers were instructed to review LinkedIn profiles of visa applicants mentioning work history involving "misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance, and online safety.""
"In April 2022, the Biden administration appointed Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation researcher, to lead the Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board, tasked with aiding government efforts to understand and mitigate false information related to border security, human trafficking, and domestic terrorism. Almost immediately, the board came under attack from Republicans like Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and far-right pundit Tucker Carlson, who likened the body to a "Ministry of Truth.""
The State Department instructed U.S. embassy staff to reject work visa applications from people described as engaging in "censorship" of Americans' online speech and to review LinkedIn work histories mentioning misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance, and online safety. The affected roles include journalists, fact-checkers, academics, media literacy professionals, and a range of Trust and Safety tech workers. The measure represents an escalation in a multi-year Republican campaign to discredit misinformation research by alleging suppression of conservative viewpoints. Nina Jankowicz was appointed to head a DHS Disinformation Governance Board in April 2022, faced intense political attacks and threats, resigned in May 2022, and later cofounded the American Sunlight Project.
#visa-restrictions #misinformationdisinformation #censorship-allegations #disinformation-governance-board
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