The State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), accused of censoring U.S. citizens, shut down due to lack of funding, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, according to a Washington Post report. The GEC had been deemed the “worst offender in U.S. government censorship & media manipulation” by Elon Musk. Lawmakers originally included funding for the GEC in a bill to fund the government beyond a Friday deadline. However, conservatives objected, causing the bill to be rewritten without money for the GEC and other funding riders. The agency had a budget of around $61 million and 120 staff members. Republicans argued that the agency’s work was redundant and already provided by the private sector in a time when adversaries like Iran and Russia spread disinformation.
Matt Taibbi reported that the GEC had engaged in what he called an “idiotic” form of blacklisting, particularly during the pandemic. The GEC was said to have funded a list of subcontractors to flag accounts that spread misinformation such as conspiracy theories related to the origins of the coronavirus. The GEC, which also partners with various government agencies, was found to be funding the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab). Despite accusations of tracking Americans using tax money, DFRLab Director Graham Brookie maintained that their grants had an “exclusively international focus.” A report from the Republican-led House Small Business Committee in 2024 criticized the GEC for awarding grants to organizations that tracked both domestic and foreign misinformation and rated U.S.-based publishers’ credibility.
A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Daily Wire, and the Federalist accused the State Department and other government officials of censoring American media outlets. The lawsuit claimed that the GEC was used as a tool for censorship and violated the First Amendment. The Texas Attorney General’s Office accused the agency of weaponizing its authority to suppress Americans’ freedom of speech. Another report revealed that the GEC had used taxpayer dollars to create a video game called “Cat Park” to educate youth abroad on disinformation. Critics, including America First Legal’s Stephen Miller, argued that the game promoted certain political beliefs instead of protecting Americans from foreign disinformation.
Conservatives criticized the GEC for targeting non-liberal and conservative news outlets in an “egregious government operation to censor the American press.” The lawsuit argued that conservative news organizations, including The Daily Wire and The Federalist, were labeled as “unreliable” or “risky” by the agency, affecting their advertising revenue and circulation. The GEC’s actions were described as pushing certain political beliefs rather than combating foreign disinformation. Critics such as Mike Benz from the Foundation For Freedom Online believed that the agency’s efforts were anti-populist and did not serve in protecting Americans from foreign propaganda. The GEC was ultimately shut down due to lack of funding, sparking debates and lawsuits over its perceived censorship of American media outlets.
