US State Department closing office aimed at countering foreign disinformation
Source: Reuters
April 16, 2025 4:57 PM EDT Updated 12 hours ago
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he was shutting down a State Department office that had sought to counter foreign disinformation, accusing it of censorship and wasting U.S. taxpayer money.
Rubio in a statement said he was closing the State Department's Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, previously known as the Global Engagement Center.
The GEC had already shut down in December 2024 under former Democratic President Joe Biden after Congress did not extend its mandate that was set to expire. It was reorganized to create a different public diplomacy office known as R/FIMI. The GEC had come under intense criticism from some Republicans who said it was straying from its mission, accusing it of disfavoring opinions by conservative media in particular.
Democratic lawmakers and other Republicans supported the center, which had a budget of $61 million and a staff size of more than 120. They said it played an important role in combating Russian and Chinese disinformation.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who has led an unprecedented push to shrink the U.S. federal government since the latter took office on January 20, had said in a 2023 post on X that the center was "the worst offender" in U.S. government censorship and media manipulation.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-state-department-closing-office-aimed-countering-foreign-disinformation-2025-04-16/
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