Remember when the United States briefly had an official "disinformation expert" who said that the Hunter Biden story was "a fairy tale about a laptop repair shop?" Americans rose up and quickly sent her and the Disinformation Governance Board packing, but there are still plenty of "disinformation experts" out there, like MSNBC's Brandy Zadrozny, who says people celebrating Charlie Kirk's death on the internet is the total opposite of what's really happening, or Talia Lavin, who maligned a combat-wounded veteran and ICE agent as a Nazi because she misread his tattoo?
"Disinformation" is one of those words that's been played out, like "white supremacist" or "Nazi." It's used so often and yet has no meaning anymore. The disinformation is all coming from the cable and broadcast news networks.
I haven't wandered over to liberal utopia Bluesky to check on the reactions there to the political assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, but I've seen plenty of screenshots. (I thought all of the liberals were moving to Mastodon if Elon Musk bought Twitter. I'm sure Threads is abuzz as well.)
Someone, perhaps Chuck Ross, noted that Atlantic staff writer Jemele Hill had deleted her Bluesky post:
The Atlantic's @jemelehill deleted her Bluesky post where she said Charlie Kirk's assassination was carried out by a white supremacist gang. She was citing "disinformation expert" Joan Donovan, who should now be shunned by the media. pic.twitter.com/uKjU62WfT3
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) September 16, 2025
Hill had posted:
The LA Times spoke with an expert (imagine that!) about the markings on the killer's bullet casings and turns out … Charlie Kirk likely was the victim of a white supremacist gang hit.
Well, well, well.
I'm shocked that Hill was quick to go the racism route and blame white supremacists for Kirk's assassination. It's not like her to make everything about race.
Joan Donovan, "disinformation expert."
Joan has deleted her account, but she was also famous for calling the lab leak theory and the hunter Biden laptop story “disinformation” pic.twitter.com/wyQK1YrSkM
— Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) September 16, 2025
The Chronicle of Higher Education had done a piece on Donovan after she left Harvard because of its association with Meta.
Stephanie M. Lee wrote:
In buttoned-down academe, Donovan is an outsider: a two-time college dropout from working-class Massachusetts, a lesbian punk anarchist who embedded in the Occupy movement and emerged with a sociology dissertation. So prescient was her understanding of today’s fractured media landscape — and how lies and hate speech thrive inside it — that Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government recruited her in 2018. Throughout the Trump presidency, a pandemic, an insurrection, and a societal panic over disinformation, she gave countless media interviews, testified before Congress, and emerged as a trusted guide for frightening times. A defender of a republic and a press under siege. A truth-teller in a sea of liars.
We're sure the Los Angeles Times had her on speed-dial for incidents just like this one.
Guys, it's not that complicated. Kirk's killer had come from a conservative family, yes, but quickly became radicalized by the far-left, so much so that he thought it was up to him to kill Charlie Kirk.
They always look the same.
— Unveiled Witness (@UnveiledWi79569) September 16, 2025
Dear Lord - I wish that picture was disinformation.
— TungstenBlock (@TungstenBlock) September 16, 2025
I already shunned her, but for other reasons.
— "Dr. Hypnosis" 🧠 | BowTied Brain-Hacking (@BowTiedTrance) September 16, 2025
What a repulsive beast
— Nunya Bidness (@Nunya06416688) September 16, 2025
What are Joan's qualifications?
— GenX Politics (@GenXPolitico1) September 16, 2025
Good question.
Well, her source was a disinformation expert. She should've gone to an information expert instead.
— Weber 🇦🇷 (@weberju5) September 16, 2025
Where you at Jemele? I know a guy loving a furry transsexual for sure is MAGA related. At least in your obtuse brain it is.
— HelpingHandsMD (@helping_md) September 16, 2025
Yes, there are plenty of Jabba the Hutt replies in there, but I left those out.
I'd bet good money that Hill still thinks it was a far-right conservative who killed Charlie Kirk, even with the week's worth of evidence that's piled up.
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