In 2020, Nina Jankowicz published a book examining how targets of Russian disinformation attempted to counter the Kremlin’s lies, often floundering along the way. In 2022, the Biden administration tapped her to lead the Disinformation Governance Board — an intra-departmental coordinating body at the Department of Homeland Security. Within hours of the announcement of the Board, partisan domestic disinformation actors labelled it a “Ministry of Truth”, falsely claimed it would censor the American people, and directed lies, hate, harassment, and threats, towards Jankowicz. Rather than defend the effort and its
director, or even communicate about its plans, the Department left an information vacuum that buoyed the lies and ultimately led the administration to scrap its plans for the Board.
Weaving together her experience in US government as well as her extensive research on online abuse and disinformation across Central and Eastern Europe, Jankowicz will offer ideas and best practices for efforts to counter disinformation both within and outside of government structures, as well as predictions for the future of the problem.