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Controversial Government Agency Faces Sudden Closure

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  • The State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), accused of censoring Americans, has been shut down due to lack of funding.
  • The GEC’s funding was removed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, following criticism from conservatives.
  • A lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others, alleging the GEC was used to censor and demonetize conservative media outlets.

The State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), a controversial entity accused by conservatives of censoring American citizens, has officially closed its doors. The closure comes as a result of funding being stripped from the organization, a decision linked to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual policy bill for the Pentagon.

Elon Musk had previously labeled the GEC as the “worst offender in U.S. government censorship & media manipulation.” A State Department spokesperson confirmed the agency’s termination, stating that it would “terminate by operation of law [by the end of the day] on December 23, 2024.”

Initially, lawmakers had included funding for the GEC in a continuing resolution to keep the government funded beyond a looming deadline. However, conservatives opposed this version of the bill, leading to a rewrite that excluded financial support for the GEC and other provisions.

The GEC had a budget of approximately $61 million and employed around 120 staff members. Despite its stated mission to counter foreign disinformation, Republicans argued that the agency’s efforts were redundant, as similar analysis is already available from private sector sources.

Journalist Matt Taibbi criticized the GEC for its actions during the pandemic, claiming it “funded a secret list of subcontractors and helped pioneer an insidious — and idiotic — new form of blacklisting.” Taibbi highlighted that the GEC flagged accounts as “Russian personas and proxies” based on certain criteria, including narratives about the coronavirus and its origins.

The GEC’s activities extended beyond the State Department, as it collaborated with agencies like the FBI, CIA, NSA, and others. It also provided funding to the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab). Despite accusations, DFRLab Director Graham Brookie denied using tax money to track Americans, emphasizing an “exclusively international focus.”

A Republican-led House Small Business Committee report in 2024 criticized the GEC for grants awarded to organizations tracking both domestic and foreign misinformation. This report added to the concerns about the agency’s operations.

The closure of the GEC follows a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The lawsuit accused the State Department and other officials of “engaging in a conspiracy to censor, deplatform and demonetize American media outlets disfavored by the federal government.”

The Texas Attorney General’s Office stated that the GEC “weaponized this authority to violate the First Amendment and suppress Americans’ constitutionally-protected speech.” The lawsuit described the center’s efforts as “one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press in the history of the nation.”

Furthermore, America First Legal revealed that the GEC used taxpayer dollars to develop a video game called “Cat Park” to “Inoculate Youth Against Disinformation” abroad. Mike Benz, executive director at the Foundation for Freedom Online, criticized the game as “anti-populist,” suggesting it promoted certain political beliefs rather than protecting Americans from foreign disinformation.

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