NJ Homeland Security unveils disinformation portal

HAMILTON, NJ­ — The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness unveiled a new disinformation portal at https://www.njhomelandsecurity.gov/disinformation focused on assisting the public in identifying and vetting any truth-obscuring, manufactured information, according to an April 6 press release.

The disinformation portal will examine tactics, techniques and procedures that nation, state and non-state entities engage in, sometimes referred to as psychological operations. According to the release, the office “hopes to address the onslaught of activity from these entities who have recently sought to and capitalized on spreading disinformation to sow discord within New Jersey and elsewhere.”

Disinformation has the potential to incite panic, create distrust between the government and people, increase polarization, influence government actions or law enforcement responses, exhaust resources, and cause undue harm, according to the NJOHSP.

“As it pertains to our mission, disinformation can have an insidious impact on the overall threat landscape,” NJOHSP Director Laurie Doran said. “In an age where the public has become increasingly dependent on online forums and social media platforms to stay informed, we all have a higher responsibility to scrutinize the information we’re consuming.”

In addition to a checklist for screening information, the page also provides intelligence reports that highlight circulating disinformation trends and tips on spotting deep fakes, synthetic media that employs artificial intelligence to generate realistic-looking video, images and audio.

“The reality is no one platform or agency has the manpower or means to track and dispel the amount of disinformation being circulated,” NJOHSP Deputy Director Eric Tysarczyk said. “With this portal, we’re now equipping the public with the tools needed to decipher the information for themselves.”

Members of the public who encounter information that contains a threat or a call to action, incites potential violence, or appears to have a nexus to terrorism should immediately report it to local law enforcement or NJOHSP’s Counterterrorism Watch by contacting 1-866-472-3365 or tips@njohsp.gov.

  Department of Homeland Security