The Trump Administration announced the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, formerly known as the Global Engagement Center. The agency, which cost American taxpayers over $50 million annually, is being shuttered amid allegations it played a central role in censoring political speech and blacklisting media outlets.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement in a press release Wednesday, stating that the office had, under previous leadership, diverted its resources from countering foreign disinformation to targeting the speech of American citizens, a shift he called “antithetical” to American values.
“For centuries, the United States served as a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world,” Rubio said. “Over the last decade though, individuals in America have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions. That is not an America our Founding Fathers would recognize.”
Originally created to combat foreign propaganda, the Global Engagement Center came under fire in recent years for funding third-party organizations accused of labeling and suppressing domestic news sources, particularly those with right-leaning editorial stances. GEC was funding groups like NewsGuard, which targeted conservative media outlets like Must Read Alaska to do repetitional damage.
The Daily Wire and The Washington Free Beacon sued over being blacklisted and congressional Republicans launched several inquiries into the center’s activities.
“Under the previous administration, this office… spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” Rubio added. “That ends today.”
The decision is part of a broader push by the Trump push to dismantle government programs perceived to be infringing on First Amendment rights. President Donald Trump campaigned on restoring freedom of speech and eliminating the Deep State censorship regime.
The GEC was originally formed by President Barack Obama in 2016 to address state-sponsored propaganda from nations like Russia and China. In practice, however, its partnerships with private organizations and social media platforms raised alarms among civil liberties groups across the political spectrum.
The closure will take effect immediately, with the State Department redirecting remaining funds to efforts Rubio described as “focused strictly on actual foreign threats — not Americans exercising their rights.”
