A consultancy firm advised by former “Ministry of Truth” Director Nina Jankowicz received a federally funded contract to combat the spread of alleged disinformation in the U.S. Air Force, The National Pulse can reveal.
The company, the Alethea Group, was founded in 2019 and purports to defend its clients from “disinformation campaigns.”
Jankowicz became the Alethea Group’s Director of External Engagement in September of 2021, remarking at the time: “I’m thrilled to lead Alethea’s external-facing research to continue to educate the public about the impact of disinformation on public safety, public health, and the functioning of global democracies.”
Just months after Jankowicz joined the Alethea Group, the company scored its first federal contract through the AFWERX program, dubbed the “the venture capital fund of the Air Force.” The firm was awarded an AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract “to help the Air Force detect and mitigate instances of disinformation and misinformation,” according to a company press release.
“Artemis, Alethea Group’s machine learning platform, will be used to enable Air Force decision makers to proactively counter-message disinformation narratives in a way that’s appropriate for a government use-case.”
“Adversaries are finding the use of disinformation to be more effective in influencing behavior and have targeted the US military, Service members, Veterans, and their families,” explained an Alethea Group representative, who added:
“Narratives and false information resulting from disinformation have negative consequences for the military ranging from heightened political tensions that cause divisions between Service members, to lower COVID vaccination rates, to violence and offline action inspired by conspiracy theories.”
The unearthed contract follows the Biden White House pausing its plans to create a Disinformation Governance Board at the Department of Homeland Security, which would have been led by Jankowicz. Despite Jankowicz exiting the role shortly after it was announced, it appears the Alethea Group’s AFWERX contract is still active, allowing the firm to receive federal funds and advise the U.S. military on what constitutes “disinformation.”
