The Trump administration will launch a $40 million program to beat back overseas propaganda, including from Russia, in an effort run by the Pentagon and State Department, U.S. diplomats announced Monday.
The money will finance various initiatives from the Global Engagement Center, a State Department entity established by Congress in 2016 as part of a defense authorization law. The program was developed in response to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, as well as the kind of cyber-driven jihad that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria made famous.
“This funding is critical to ensuring that we continue an aggressive response to malign influence and disinformation and that we can leverage deeper partnerships with our allies, Silicon Valley, and other partners in this fight,” Steve Goldstein, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. “It is not merely a defensive posture that we should take, we also need to be on the offensive.”
The Defense Department is supposed to transfer $40 million to the State Department, which would bring the GEC budget to $60 million. Goldstein’s announcement drew applause from the lawmakers who drafted the legislation, though they didn’t hide their frustration that the memorandum of understanding between the two agencies was so long in coming.
“This announcement is an important milestone in the development of an operational capability to counter foreign disinformation being waged against us by our foreign adversaries,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Monday. “While long overdue, I’m pleased we now have a road map in place that operationalizes the GEC and details how the money will be spent and who is responsible for developing and executing these projects.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., adopted a similar tone. “Though long overdue, I hope this announcement is a sign that the Trump administration will finally start to make use of the tools Congress gave them to fight back against Russian disinformation and terrorist propaganda,” he said.
Portman put the blame for the delay on the Defense Department. “It is time for the Department of Defense to fulfill the promise made by senior DOD leadership to provide the full $40 million in funding to support the GEC,” he said. “Congress enacted legislation establishing the GEC more than a year ago, and the repeated delays are standing in the way of combatting a serious threat to our national security.”
