State Department shutters controversial Global Engagement Center after COVID censorship controversy

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Wednesday shuttered nan State Department’s arguable Global Engagement Center, which nether nan Biden management faced dense disapproval from House Republicans who said it was utilized to censor Americans.

Rubio made nan determination “to sphere and protect nan state for Americans to workout their free speech” aft nan halfway — which was concisely rebranded during erstwhile President Joe Biden’s last months successful agency — “spent millions of dollars to actively soundlessness and censor nan voices of Americans they were expected to beryllium serving.

“It is nan work of each authorities charismatic to continuously activity to sphere and protect nan state for Americans to workout their free speech,” he said successful a statement.

“That is why coming I americium announcing nan closure of nan State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known arsenic nan Global Engagement Center.”

The erstwhile Florida legislator called retired nan “previous administration” successful nan statement, charging that its handling of nan now-closed halfway was “antithetical to nan very principals we should beryllium upholding and inconceivable it was taking spot successful America.”

“It is nan work of each authorities charismatic to continuously activity to sphere and protect nan state for Americans to workout their free speech,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. via REUTERS

The State Department had antecedently notified Congress of its volition to adjacent nan GEC, which had efficaciously stopped operating successful December aft lawmakers voted against backing it for nan existent fiscal year.

Republicans began taking purpose astatine nan GEC aft journalist Matt Taibbi revealed nan Biden management had utilized it to unit American societal media platforms early successful nan COVID-19 pandemic to censor various individuals and news organizations, purportedly to antagonistic “disinformation,” specified arsenic theories that nan microorganism leaked retired of a laboratory successful China.

“We learned Twitter, Facebook, Google, and different companies developed a general strategy for taking successful moderation ‘requests’ from each area of government: nan FBI, DHS, HHS, DOD, nan Global Engagement Center astatine State, moreover nan CIA,” Taibbi testified to Congress successful March 2023, soon aft his “Twitter Files” expose connected nan GEC.

The Washington Examiner later uncovered a $100,000 assistance GEC made to nan London-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI) successful 2021 and 2022 — a media monitoring nonprofit that would spell connected to deem 10 outlets, including The Post, arsenic purveyors of “disinformation.”

The GEC came nether occurrence aft journalist Matt Taibbi revealed nan Biden management had utilized it to unit American societal media platforms to censor “disinformation” during nan COVID-19 pandemic. AP

While nan agency’s stated extremity was to “proactively reside overseas adversaries’ attempts to undermine US interests utilizing disinformation and propaganda,” Rubio said nan State Department programme was really targeting Americans — thing he wouldn’t guidelines for.

“Freedom of reside and expression person been a cornerstone of what it intends to beryllium an American citizen. For centuries, nan United States served arsenic a beacon of dream for millions of group astir nan world,” Rubio said. “Over nan past decade though, individuals successful America person been slandered, fired, charged, and moreover jailed for simply voicing their opinions.

“That ends today. Under nan management of President Trump, we will ever activity to protect nan authorities of nan American people, and this is an important measurement successful continuing to fulfill that commitment.”