The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the Department of Homeland Security reportedly removed a video posted in June 2021 that suggested Americans report family members for sharing “disinformation” on COVID online, as reported by the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO).
In response, the FFO archived a copy of the “dystopian” video and accused CISA of attempting to suppress evidence showing it endorses censorship practices. The animated video featured an instructor who provided instructions on “Countering Disinformation: Cybersecurity 101.”
“Since 2020, there has been a lot of false and inaccurate information about COVID-19,” the video stated.
The instructional video produced by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) featured an illustrated version of a social media feed from the perspective of the fictional character, Susan.
“Consider this post from Susan’s feed: It’s from her Uncle Steve, who claims everybody knows COVID is no worse than the flu,” the video continued.
In the fictional scenario, Susan’s uncle is accused of backing up his claims about COVID with unreliable sources, including a “fake news story”.
In contrast, Susan supports her stance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, which is regarded as a “trustworthy” and “fact-based” source due to its large government funding.
The video concludes with Susan reporting her uncle’s statement on social media as “disinformation.”
“You can’t win every argument online, but you can protect yourself from disinformation. You can stop it from spreading, too,” the video stated.
In 2022, Tucker Carlson discussed the CISA’s video on a Fox News segment with United States Senate candidate Republican Blake Masters. He noted that the cartoon-formatted video appeared to be aimed at children.
“By definition, if you’re trying to separate children from their parents, break apart the family so that you can have more control over the country – that’s the very definition of authoritarianism,” Carlson said.
According to the Foreign Freedom of Expression (FFO) report, the video in question was removed from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) YouTube account between April 9th and May 9th this year, just prior to the Supreme Court hearing for Missouri v. Biden, a case involving censorship.
The FFO also noted that CISA was founded in 2018 with an emphasis on preventing foreign cyberattacks; however, they have since altered their mission statement to include “disinformation” activities as well as domestic threats.
Mike Benz, executive director of FFO, commented on the matter stating that “DHS now has no defense to a Supreme Court injunction prohibiting them from future domestic censorship activity.”
He continued by saying that if DHS is actively deleting evidence of past behavior then they should not have any issues adhering to an order forbidding similar conduct in the future.
Despite requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF), CISA remained silent.
ICYMI: Hunter Biden to Testify in Public Hearing Before House Oversight Panel