‘COVID-19 misinformation’ now a terror threat, says DHS

As part of its crackdown on ‘COVID-19 misinformation’, the Biden administration has now classified such misinformation as responsible for a heightened U.S. terror threat. 

In a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terror advisory bulletin posted on Monday, the department warned against the threat of people not trusting the government, which was blamed on “mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM)”.  

“The United States remains in a heightened threat environment fueled by several factors, including an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors,” read the bulletin. 

“These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence,” the memo continued. 

With regard to the “false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories”, the DHS specified that it was referring to COVID-19. 

“For example, there is widespread online proliferation of false or misleading narratives regarding unsubstantiated widespread election fraud and COVID-19,” the department clarified. “Grievances associated with these themes inspired violent extremist attacks during 2021.” 

The DHS also warned that COVID-19 restrictions and mandates have caused and may cause terror attacks. 

“Meanwhile, COVID-19 mitigation measures—particularly COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates—have been used by domestic violent extremists to justify violence since 2020 and could continue to inspire these extremists to target government, healthcare, and academic institutions that they associate with those measures,” the memo said. 

It is unclear what “violence” was justified by the vaccine and mandates. It is also unclear what the DHS means when it mentions COVID-19 “mis- dis- and mal-information". While the department has an entire page dedicated to “MDM”, it fails to explain at any point what constitutes COVID-19 MDM. 

Earlier this month, Press Secretary Jen Psaki urged social media companies to monitor communications for COVID-19 misinformation and urged Spotify to take action against Joe Rogan, who the White House considers to be a spreader of misinformation.  

Joe Rogan is accused of hosting prominent physicians and medical leaders on his podcast whose views differed from the mainstream COVID narrative. 

But the DHS is not the only government division that has classified dissenting views – particularly those that veer from the government’s COVID narrative – as domestic terrorism. 

In January, it was discovered that the Department of Education had secretly asked the National School Boards Association (NSBA) to issue a request for help in protecting schools from parents who disagreed with the COVID-19 narrative or Critical Race Theory (CRT). The NSBA sent a letter to the Department of Justice, asking for assistance in rooting out such parents, who were classified as “domestic terrorists”. 

After that, the Department of Justice issued its own memo to the FBI, instructing the bureau to investigate parents who have such dissenting views as domestic terrorists. 

The Department of Homeland Security may have a valid reason to be concerned about heightened terrorist threats, however, as illegal immigrants pour into the country. 

In November, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined to deport 1.2 million illegal immigrants with final removal orders. Last month, the secretary was caught on hot mic saying that the border crisis is “worse now than it, frankly, has been in at least 20 years, if not ever.”