WH Defends Appointment of 'Disinformation Czar' Who Denied Existence of Hunter Biden's Laptop

The job was created earlier this week to counter what the White House calls "disinformation" about Russia's alleged election interference, the special military operation in Ukraine and anti-vaxxer opinions.

The White House has defended the appointment of author Nina Jankowicz — who falsely claimed the Hunter Biden laptop story was fake — as its new 'Minister of Truth'.

Questioned about Jankowicz's expertise, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called her an "expert on online disinformation", who had "extensive qualifications" and testified on such matters before the US Congress, as well as British and EU parliaments.

That was in contrast to Psaki's claim earlier this week that she was not familiar with the newly-appointed head of President Joe Biden's sinisterly-titled new Disinformation Governance Board.

The spokeswoman deflected a question about the appointment process, saying it was entirely up to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also claimed he was not personally familiar with Jankowicz.

Mary Poppins of Disinformation and 'Laptop From Hell' Denier

TikTok and Twitter users may be more familiar with Jankowicz than Mayorkas and Psaki. Jankowicz left an indelible mark on social media with her "Mary Poppins of disinformation" video, in which she viewers who they are and aren't allowed to believe in a parody of the musical's hit number 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' — in a poor mockery of Julie Andrews' posh English accent.

"When Rudy Giuliani shared bad intel from Ukraine. Or when TikTok influencers say COVID can’t cause pain. They’re laundering disinfo and we really should take note. And not support their lies with our wallet, voice or vote", Jankowicz sang.

You can just call me the Mary Poppins of disinformation 💁🏻‍♀️ https://t.co/eGV9lpctYn pic.twitter.com/WVQFA2bPmq

— Nina Jankowicz 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@wiczipedia) February 17, 2021

Jen Psaki dodged more questions about Jankowicz's cringeworthy crooning and potential objections to her appointment. She insisted the idea of creating the body originated under Donald Trump's administration and that the Biden White House just ran with it.

Jankowicz's appointment also drew flak over her vehement denials of the Hunter Biden "laptop from hell" story, which she dismissed back in 2020 as "Russian disinformation". The story has since been verified by the New York Times and Washington Post, the same mainstream media outlets that ignored it for nearly two years.

In 2020, Jankowicz criticised then-president Donald Trump for accusing mainstream media of spreading fake news, and asserted in an interview that the executive government should not have the powers to declare any information "fake".

May, 2020. Nina Jankowicz was horrified at the idea of the Executive Branch (Trump) having any say in what is true or false.

She uses Poland's "Ministry of Digitalization" as an example of "anti-democratic online governance".

She also admits to being funded by Facebook. pic.twitter.com/5XoptnuMpJ

— Maze (@mazemoore) April 29, 2022

But times have seemingly changed, and the Disinformation Governance Board will do precisely that under her leadership — declaring certain information "fake" and combatting it with official "truth".

The White House has suggested that the board's work could focus on anti-vaxxer theories — even as the COVID-19 pandemic has fallen off the political agenda. Its responsibilities also will include combatting "Russian disinformation", in particular about alleged meddling in US elections and the special military operation in Ukraine.

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