Congress just killed the U.S. government office dedicated to fighting Iranian, Chinese, and Russian propaganda overseas. The specific act was the decision not to reauthorize the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, and as such, it ceased operations at the end of December. Of course, China, Russia, and Iran have no intention of ceasing their relentless information operations campaigns against the United States and its allies and partners so now Congress will have to take action to remedy this problem.
The GEC’s death was a partisan affair, with House Republicans repeatedly blocking its reauthorization. The Republicans never expressed opposition to the GEC’s core mission — countering adversary lies overseas — but rather, they opposed the GEC’s execution of the mission. Republican lawmakers had a point when they criticized the GEC for contracting with a British firm, Global Disinformation Index, that unfairly labeled some U.S. conservative media as extremist. The Washington Examiner’s Gabe Kaminsky led reporting on this concern.
