Biden’s ‘Disinformation Czar’ who Promoted False Narratives on Hunter Biden Laptop Story is Telling European Union Not to Work with Trump

Nina Jankowicz, who previously led the Biden administration’s short-lived Disinformation Governance Board and was known as the “disinformation” czar, is now urging the European Union to resist efforts by the Trump administration to influence global approaches to online content regulation and related matters.

Speaking before the European Parliament during a session on Russian hybrid threats, Jankowicz criticized what she described as the U.S. government’s growing alignment with major technology companies in opposing restrictions on online speech, reports National Review.

“The United States has now become the largest lobbyist for these multibillion dollar [tech] corporations and is harassing any nation or body that aims to conduct oversight or require transparency of them. Neither Washington nor the social media platforms it has captured are interested in preserving democracy. They are interested in preserving their power and hoarding profits,” Jankowicz said during her testimony.

However, Jankowicz herself has faced criticism for previously promoting false narratives regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop and alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia; she has still not walked back those statements.

Additionally, Jankowicz became a public figure in 2022 when she was appointed to head the Disinformation Governance Board under the Department of Homeland Security. The board, unveiled in April that year, was disbanded by August following public criticism and internal assessments concluding its work was already being handled by other DHS units.

Jankowicz encouraged European lawmakers to stand by the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes tighter controls on tech companies to combat what the EU defines as “hate speech” and “disinformation.” She also urged the EU to continue its support for Ukraine, regardless of whether future U.S. leadership maintains that position.

“Before I describe the details of Russia’s recent online influence campaigns, I would like to call upon you stand firm against another autocracy: the United States of America,” Jankowicz said.

She warned that the Trump administration may attempt to pressure EU institutions into weakening regulations like the DSA and scaling back assistance to Ukraine.

“The Trump administration is undoubtedly preparing a pressure campaign to force EU institutions to roll back regulation like the DSA, to end support for Ukraine, to stop holding Russia to account. Do not capitulate. Hold the line. Doing so is the clearest signal the European Union could send to Russia and other adversaries that it will not stop fighting to preserve democracy around the world,” she added.

Jankowicz also criticized the Trump administration’s moves to dismantle internal government efforts focused on countering misinformation. She specifically called out Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his decision to shut down the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, previously known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC).

Rubio recently justified the closure by pointing to the office’s involvement in urging social media platforms to suppress content. Similarly, the FBI disbanded its Foreign Influence Task Force, which had faced backlash over its role in stories like the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, notes National Review.

In 2023, she launched the American Sunlight Project, a group advocating for stricter content moderation online. This followed her registration as a foreign agent to work with a U.K.-partially-funded think tank.