The leftist tradition of going overseas to attack America stretches back further than “Hanoi” Jane Fonda.
The tradition just took an even uglier turn.
And an ex-Biden official just urged Europe to defy Trump with one demand that has Americans white with rage.
Former Biden official urges Europe to resist American free speech
Nina Jankowicz, who briefly led the Biden administration’s controversial Disinformation Governance Board before it collapsed under public scrutiny, has a new message for Europeans – resist the United States.
Speaking to the European Parliament this week, Jankowicz made the stunning claim that Europeans should “stand firm against another autocracy: the United States of America.”
Her comments came just days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the elimination of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub, formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC).
Jankowicz was particularly disturbed by Rubio’s decision, complaining that “Secretary of State Marco Rubio gleefully announced he was obliterating the office tasked with tracking and responding to foreign information, manipulation and interference.”
What Jankowicz failed to mention was that this same office had been credibly accused of silencing American voices under the guise of fighting foreign disinformation.
Rubio explained his decision by pointing out that the GEC “cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year and actively silenced and censored the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving.”
Jankowicz’s European censorship push
The self-described “Mary Poppins of disinformation” urged European leaders to double down on their content moderation laws despite the Trump administration’s opposition.
“The Trump administration is undoubtedly preparing a pressure campaign to force EU institutions to roll back regulation like the DSA,” Jankowicz warned, referring to the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which critics have labeled a “censorship law.”
She added, “Neither Washington nor the social media platforms at his capture are interested in protecting democracy. They are interested in maintaining their power and hoarding profits.”
The Trump administration has made it clear it won’t support foreign censorship of American platforms. Vice President JD Vance declared at the Paris Artificial Intelligence Summit that, “We will never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.”
President Trump followed up by signing a memorandum “to defend American companies and innovators from overseas extortion,” specifically mentioning the EU’s Digital Services Act as facing “scrutiny from the Administration.”
Jankowicz’s troubled history with censorship
This isn’t the first time Jankowicz has raised eyebrows with her views on free speech. She previously stated that “freedom of speech does not necessarily mean freedom of reach,” suggesting that some speech should be limited in its ability to spread.
During an April 1 congressional hearing, Jankowicz attempted to downplay censorship concerns by claiming, “There was no censorship going on at the Global Engagement Center at the State Department.”
However, the GEC’s activities tell a different story. It provided backing to organizations like the Disinformation Index Inc. and NewsGuard Technologies, which created blacklists of news outlets they deemed “risky” or “misleading.”
These blacklists targeted conservative outlets, labeling them as having the “greatest level of disinformation risk.” Meanwhile, liberal publications like the Washington Post and NPR were praised as the “least risky sites.”
This selective approach to “disinformation” reveals the real agenda behind these efforts – silencing conservative voices while amplifying liberal narratives.
The foreign influence connection
What makes Jankowicz’s comments to European leaders even more troubling is her own status as a registered foreign agent. She registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 2022, having previously served as an adviser to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Now she’s telling European leaders, “If Europe wishes to stand firm against Russia and defend its democracy and sovereignty, it must start by standing up against the bullies in the White House.”
Her message is clear – she wants Europe to resist American efforts to protect free speech on social media platforms, even as the EU Commission has targeted platforms like X (formerly Twitter) with threats of massive fines for content moderation “violations.”
The EU recently demonstrated its regulatory muscle by slapping Meta and Apple with hundreds of millions of dollars in fines under the Digital Markets Act.
Despite being rejected by American voters and lawmakers, Jankowicz seems determined to continue her censorship campaign from abroad, encouraging foreign governments to do what she couldn’t accomplish at home.
Her message to Europeans to “hold the line” against American free speech principles reveals just how far some will go to control what information people can access and share online.
