The left has made the issue of disinformation a cornerstone of its rhetoric, often using it as a cudgel to accuse its opponents of undermining democracy. Disinformation and misinformation are undeniably issues worth addressing. The extent of the problem, however, seems to hinge on who is affected and who stands to benefit politically.
For some time now, Democrats have warned about the dangers of disinformation, insisting that ‘our democracy” is threatened by it, and have used this threat to justify assaults on free speech.
Take the warnings issued by Democrats and left-leaning institutions. The Brookings Institute declared in 2022 that “Misinformation is eroding the public’s confidence in democracy.” Former President Obama, echoing these concerns, claimed that solving the disinformation problem could help “rebuild the trust and solidarity needed to make our democracy stronger.” These lofty statements might sound noble, but they are too often undermined by actions that suggest the left is more concerned with weaponizing disinformation than eradicating it.
The case of Pete Hegseth, currently on the verge of becoming secretary of defense, exposes this hypocrisy. Democrats, aided by mainstream outlets like NBC News, have attempted to derail his confirmation with dubious claims. The strategy included an affidavit from his former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, who alleged concerning behavior that reportedly caused his second wife to fear for her safety. This affidavit surfaced after Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat, sent a letter soliciting information about alleged abuse or misconduct.
Related: The Latest Democrat Scheme to Thwart Hegseth’s Nomination Just Got Nuked
NBC News was the first to report on the accusations, but the report was, in every sense of the word, disinformation. Why? Because Samantha Deering, Hegseth’s ex-wife, publicly denied the claims, calling them false and explicitly stating there was no physical abuse in their marriage.
If the alleged victim says it didn’t happen, the story didn’t meet any journalistic standards for publication. Yet NBC News ran the story, deliberately casting doubt on Hegseth’s character in what can only be described as a hit piece. Ironically, this is the same NBC News that declared a year ago, “Disinformation poses an unprecedented threat in 2024.”
I guess that expired in 2025, especially since Trump won the election.
This selective application of concern over disinformation is nothing new. Democrats and their allies in the media routinely dismiss stories critical of their party as “disinformation,” often using that label to justify burying or discrediting them. The best example of this is Hunter Biden’s “laptop from hell.” Even though it was obvious the laptop was genuine, the media colluded with the Biden campaign to cast it as “Russian disinformation,” and then Big Tech did everything possible to censor and suppress the story.
It wasn’t until after the election (and Joe Biden was installed as president) that the media finally admitted the laptop was genuine.
If disinformation were truly the existential “threat to democracy” Democrats claim, they wouldn’t resort to spreading it whenever it serves their agenda. Nor would they label anything that exposes their flaws and scandals as disinformation, as doing so only dilutes the seriousness of the accusation — much like when they reflexively brand anyone they disagree with as racist.
