Op-Ed: Kevin Schmidt: Three ways the Trump administration can clean up the Biden disinformation mess
The Trump administration has a golden opportunity to overhaul the disinformation mess created by the Biden administration, Kevin Schmidt writes in his latest op-ed.
The Trump administration is off to a good start protecting Americans’ online speech by dismantling the Biden administration’s “disinformation” regime.
On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” and dissolved Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advisory boards. These actions mark a pivotal moment in safeguarding the First Amendment.
But to make sure federal agencies are not weaponized again, Congress and the administration must work together to reform or repeal the legal authorities Biden administration agencies used to police online speech in the first place.
There is a lot of damage to be undone.
Biden’s DHS pressured social media companies to monitor and censor online speech on myriad issues. The House Judiciary Committee subcommittee revealed that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within DHS “expanded its mission to surveil and censor Americans’ speech on social media” and that DHS worked with outside “experts” to “to monitor and censor Americans’ online speech.”
For years, the Biden administration argued it had the legal authority for its disinformation regime, but it refused to reveal where the authority came from or to provide any further detail in response to direct questions from Congress or to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and litigation.
Through FOIA litigation, Americans for Prosperity Foundation obtained DHS memos that argued the agency has existing regulatory or statutory authority in "the MDM space” — short for “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.” But aside from the titles of the memos, DHS only provided blank pages because it argued the content of the memos were too sensitive to release.
Last April, Rep. Mike Ezell (R., Miss.) questioned DHS Assistant Secretary Iranga Kahangama about the source of the authority claimed in the memos. Kahangama’s word-salad answer referenced no specific legal authority: “DHS believes its authorities that authorize its specific mission use cases provides us the authority to provide correct accurate information in response false information that may directly impact the operations of the Department.” That’s a lot of use of the word “authority” without actually saying where it comes from.
In addition to stonewalling an outside group from necessary transparency and accountability, DHS extending that arrogance towards members of Congress is wholly unacceptable. One of the core responsibilities of Congress is to oversee these agencies, and yet here they are actively thwarting basic oversight.
For over two years, DHS has refused to provide unredacted copies of three different memos that outline the supposed legal authorities DHS leveraged to work with social media companies to take down online speech. The agency also wouldn’t release any additional information about its work on misinformation related to “irregular migration” and “Ukraine” before the Disinformation Governance Board was disbanded in August 2022.
The Trump administration should change this.
The Trump Executive Order says the Attorney General “shall investigate the activities of the Federal Government over the last 4 years that are inconsistent with the purposes and policies of this order and prepare a report to be submitted to the President.”
To that end, the new administration should take the following actions to bring the Biden administration’s disinformation regime and the whole philosophy of government controlling speech out of darkness:
DHS and other agencies involved in policing “disinformation,” should release key documents and memos without redaction. Transparency demands that these documents be released in full, allowing the public to understand the government’s role in shaping online discourse.
Order streamlined and speedy compliance with existing FOIA requests and litigation for disinformation documents. When agencies take months or even years to produce requested records, it undermines the public’s right to timely information.
Once the full scope of activities and legal authorities are revealed, work with Congress to refute, reform, or rescind the purported legal authorities used by the Biden administration so this abuse of power can’t happen again.
The Trump administration has taken bold initial steps to dismantle the weaponization of government against speech and restore First Amendment protections. However, this mission is far from complete.
To ensure that federal agencies can never again unconstitutionally police online speech, transparency and accountability must take priority. By releasing critical documents, expediting FOIA compliance, and collaborating with Congress to reform or repeal questionable legal authorities, the administration can cement these reforms and rebuild trust in government institutions.
The stakes are high—Americans’ freedom to express, debate, and challenge ideas in the digital age depends on it. Now is the time for decisive action to safeguard these liberties for generations to come.
Kevin Schmidt is director of investigations at Americans for Prosperity Foundation