A leading US government agency, the Global Engagement Center (GEC), has shut down following a failure by Congress to extend its funding. The GEC was established in 2016 to track foreign disinformation, with a specific focus on disinformation campaigns from US adversaries like Russia and China.
The closure comes at a time when warnings are being raised about the threat of disinformation campaigns from Russia and China, with the State Department stating that the GEC had been vital in combating such campaigns. Despite its importance, the GEC had faced years of criticism from Republican lawmakers, who accused the agency of censorship and surveillance. The agency was also criticized by Elon Musk, who called the GEC “a threat to our democracy” and accused it of being one of the worst offenders in government censorship and media manipulation.
The closure of the GEC is seen as a major blow, leaving the State Department without a dedicated office to track and counter disinformation for the first time in eight years. The GEC had a staff of around 120 people and an annual budget of $61 million.
Prior to its closure, the GEC was working on initiatives such as a multinational group, based in Warsaw, to counter Russian disinformation on the war in Ukraine, and a report that warned that China was spending billions of dollars to spread disinformation and threaten global freedom of speech. With the GEC closed, these initiatives are uncertain.