Ben Askren takes jab at Joe Biden administration, says dystopian novel '1984' inspired the idea of new Disinformation Board
![Ben Askren (Left); Joe Biden (Right Top), George Orwell's '1984' (Right Bottom) [Image credit: @jonwbenedict via Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/04/274e3-16511578161695-1920.jpg?w=500)
Former UFC fighter Ben Askren is quite active on Twitter, and one of the subjects he tweets about is free speech. 'Funky' has weighed in several times regarding censorship and modern-day 'cancel culture' surrounding alternative ideas.
In a recent tweet, the former Bellator champion gave his opinion on the newly formed Disinformation Governance Board by the Biden Administration. He suggested that the inspiration behind the formation of such a board was possibly the iconic dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell.
"You think they stole the idea of a “disinformation board” straight from 1984???"
Check out the tweet below:
You think they stole the idea of a “disinformation board” straight from 1984???
The board was formed by the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to counter disinformation coming from Russia as well as to battle misleading information circulated by human smugglers targeting unsuspecting migrants.
"The spread of disinformation can affect border security, Americans’ safety during disasters, and public trust in our democratic institutions," the department said in a statement Wednesday.
The Disinformation Governance Board will be led by information-expert Nina Jancowicz.
The idea has been criticized by several Republicans and right-leaning personalities on social media for bordering on speech censorship. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley tweeted condemning the decision, subsequently labelling Jancowiz a "leftist radical".
Rather than police our border, Homeland Security has decided to make policing Americans’ speech its top priority. They’re creating a Disinformation Board. No, really. And take a look at the views of the leftist radical running it https://t.co/70hM1Cle3Q
This is where Ben Askren's comparison of the same to Orwell's 1984 comes in.
Widely known as one of the earliest penned dystopian novels, the book is constantly compared in the media to authoritarian or totalitarian decisions taken by any world government.
In the story, the despotic fictional government of Oceania has four ministries, one of which is called the Ministry of Truth. The moniker is an intentional contradiction, as in the name of deciding the 'truth' for their countrymen, the department participates in falsification of facts, spreading propaganda and doctoring of historical events, thereby tampering with the resident's knowledge and understanding.
One can assume that Ben Askren's comparison of the new board to 1984 stems from this concept.
Ben Askren hopes Elon Musk "fixes" Twitter
After making a bid on the microblogging site two weeks ago in a shocking reveal, billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk recently took over Twitter. The board decided to accept the Tesla CEO's offer of $44 billion after an initial rebuffal.
The move was widely regarded by a large section of the community as a positive step towards preserving free speech. Ben Askren is of the same belief.
Check out the tweet below:
Twitter is great bc if you don’t like people you can unfollow, mute, block its your choice. Where they failed is when they unilaterally decided there were people no one should listen to. Hopefully @elonmusk fixes this.
In a statement released following the takeover, Elon Musk said that he was looking forward to unlocking the full potential of Twitter "by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating spam bots, and authenticating all humans."