US State Department axes anti-propaganda unit
The U.S. State Department has eliminated its Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference center, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on April 16.
Formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), the anti-propaganda task force was dissolved over its alleged encroachment on freedom of expression and cost to taxpayers.
“I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, formerly the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year and actively silenced and censored the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” Rubio said in a Twitter post.
Established in 2016, the center was tasked to counter propaganda and disinformation from countries including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
On April 9, Reuters, citing its own sources, reported that the White House had decided to reinstate at least six foreign aid programs that were previously cancelled by Rubio, to provide emergency food assistance around the world.
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