The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seal stands at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images) WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security is stepping up an effort to counter disinformation coming from Russia as well as misleading information that human smugglers circulate to target migrants hoping to travel to the U.S.-Mexico border."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.
It declined The Associated Press' request for an interview.A newly formed Disinformation Governance Board announced Wednesday will immediately begin focusing on misinformation aimed at migrants, a problem that has helped to fuel sudden surges at the U.S.
southern border in recent years. Human smugglers often spread misinformation around border policies to drum up business.RELATED: Border agents in Texas find unaccompanied toddler abandoned near US-Mexico borderLast September, for example, confusion around President Joe Biden's immigration policies combined with messages shared widely across the Haitian community on Meta's Facebook and WhatsApp platforms led some of the 14,000 migrants to the border town of Del Rio, Texas, where they set up camp.