\n<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania\u2019s governor, Josh Shapiro (D) announced a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to combat \u201cmisinformation\u201d leading up to the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n
Shapiro said in a February 29 press release<\/a>, \u201cPennsylvania is the birthplace of American democracy, and we are working to continue defending Pennsylvanians\u2019 fundamental freedoms and ensure we have a free, fair, safe, secure election this November. As Attorney General, I brought law enforcement leaders at every level together to ensure our elections remained free from fraud, interference, and intimidation here in Pennsylvania \u2013 and I made a commitment to continuing that work as Governor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe take our responsibility as stewards of our democracy seriously and the Election Threats Task Force will ensure all levels of government are working together to combat misinformation, safeguard the rights of every citizen, and ensure this election is safe, secure, free, and fair.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania Election Threats Task Force is \u201ccomprised of federal, state, and local security, law enforcement, and election administration partners who are working together to share information and coordinate plans to mitigate threats to the election process, protect voters from intimidation, and provide voters with accurate, trusted election information,\u201d according to the press release.<\/p>\n According to Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, the task force targets those who have spread \u201clies and baseless conspiracy theories, and attempting to delegitimize our safe, secure, and accurate elections.\u201d<\/p>\n Although the press release does not indicate how the task force will collaborate with DHS, nor does it mention CISA, both agencies were confirmed to be involved in the matter in a separate statement to The Federalist<\/a>. <\/p>\n Press Matt Heckel of the State Department\u2019s communications office told the outlet, \u201cThe Department of State will continue to work closely with the United States Department of Homeland Security and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency,\u201d adding, \u201cThe formation of the Election Threats Task Force will allow us to open lines of communication and share intelligence among the included government agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n It remains unclear what \u201cintelligence\u201d comprises concerning the task force.<\/p>\n CISA has been involved in censorship efforts throughout previous elections.<\/p>\n American Faith reported<\/a> that documents obtained by America First Legal<\/a> (AFL) revealed that CISA censored social media posts that questioned election integrity and mail-in voting.<\/p>\n AFL alleged that CISA \u201cknew mail-in and absentee voting are less secure than in-person (i.e., verified voting) voting, confirming warnings by former President Trump and others of increased fraud, and shared these concerns with mainstream media outlets during an unclassified \u2018media tour\u2019 the Friday before the 2020 election.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the mainstream media, having derided the notion that \u2018vote by mail\u2019 was less secure than in-person voting, covered up the truth,\u201d AFL wrote.<\/p>\n CISA also used the consulting firm Deloitte to censor posts that questioned mail-in ballots\u2019 integrity.<\/p>\n Deloitte shared with CISA that \u201cPOTUS accused the \u2018fake news\u2019 of a \u2018corrupt media conspiracy\u2019 to use COVID-19 pandemic coverage to influence the election, claiming \u2018the topic will totally change\u2019 after Election Day.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released an interim staff report<\/a> on June 26, 2023, alleging collusion between CISA and tech giants to suppress free speech on social media platforms.<\/p>\n The report states that CISA \u201cexpanded its mission to surveil Americans\u2019 speech on social media, colluded with Big Tech and government-funded third parties to censor by proxy, and tried to hide its plainly unconstitutional activities from the public.\u201d<\/p>\n The document adds that neither \u201cmisinformation\u201d nor \u201cdisinformation\u201d labels can deprive speech of its First Amendment protection.<\/p>\n It claims that CISA, founded in 2018 as an agency to protect \u201ccritical infrastructure\u201d and guard against cybersecurity threats, transformed into \u201cthe nerve center of the federal government\u2019s domestic surveillance and censorship operations on social media.\u201d By 2020, CISA reportedly began monitoring social media posts, identifying those that allegedly spread \u201cdisinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n By 2021, the agency had a formal \u201cMis-, Dis-, and Malinformation\u201d (MDM) team, the report notes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n