Global Engagement Center’s Closure: Impact on Free Speech and Disinformation Strategies

The Trump administration has shut down the State Department’s Global Engagement Center amid significant concerns that the Obama-era agency had shifted from fighting foreign disinformation to censoring American conservatives.

Key Insights

From Foreign Threats to Domestic Censorship

The Global Engagement Center, established by former President Barack Obama in 2016, was originally tasked with countering foreign terrorist propaganda. However, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency’s mission gradually expanded beyond its initial scope. By 2020, the GEC had allegedly begun targeting American voices and funding organizations that created “blacklists” of conservative media outlets, labeling them as spreaders of false information.

The Center reportedly spent millions of taxpayer dollars to assist in tracking and reporting social media posts containing supposedly false information for removal. This activity triggered several lawsuits, including from prominent conservative outlets The Daily Wire and The Federalist, who filed legal action against the State Department in 2023 claiming First Amendment violations due to the GEC’s activities.

Congressional Defunding and Administration Response

Congress ultimately defunded the Global Engagement Center in December by excluding it from a spending bill. The Trump administration’s decision to formally close the agency follows a broader executive order on “countering censorship and restoring freedom of speech” that criticized previous misinformation efforts as infringing on constitutional rights. The shutdown also affects the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference hub, the last State Department office dedicated to monitoring foreign disinformation campaigns.

“Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving.” – Marco Rubio

Approximately 40 employees will be dismissed as a result of the closure. The agency shutdown is being overseen by acting undersecretary Darren Beattie, who has a controversial background according to reports, including past attendance at a white nationalist conference and promotion of conspiracy theories related to the January 6 Capitol attack.

Shifting Priorities and Sharp Criticism

Secretary Rubio emphasized that future State Department spending will focus on pro-American messaging and protecting free speech globally. He maintains that free speech itself is the best defense against disinformation, rather than government-led censorship efforts. The administration views the closure as part of a necessary correction to government overreach in monitoring and controlling speech.

“To the extent we’re spending money now, we are going to spend money on messaging. It’s going to be pro-American messaging and it’s going to be incentivizing and protecting free speech, which is threatened all over the world.” – Marco Rubio

Critics of the decision, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen and former GEC head James Rubin, have condemned the closure. They warn it effectively disarms America against sophisticated foreign disinformation operations at a time when Russia, China, and Iran are heavily investing in influence campaigns. The GEC had developed AI models for detecting deepfakes and had exposed various foreign disinformation efforts before its closure.

“This is the functional equivalent of unilateral disarmament. If we remove our defenses against Russian and Chinese information warfare, it’s just to their advantage. That’s called unilateral disarmament.” – James Rubin