US State Department closing office aimed at countering foreign disinformation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he was shutting down a State Department office that had sought to counter foreign disinformation, accusing it of censorship and wasting U.S. taxpayer money.

Rubio in a statement said he was closing the State Departments Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, previously known as the Global Engagement Center.

The GEC had already shut down in December 2024 under former Democratic President Joe Biden after Congress did not extend its mandate that was set to expire. It was reorganized to create a different public diplomacy office known as R/FIMI.

The GEC had come under intense criticism from some Republicans who said it was straying from its mission, accusing it of disfavoring opinions by conservative media in particular.

Democratic lawmakers and other Republicans supported the center, which had a budget of $61 million and a staff size of more than 120. They said it played an important role in combating Russian and Chinese disinformation.

Billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who has led an unprecedented push to shrink the U.S. federal government since the latter took office on January 20, had said in a 2023 post on X that the center was the worst offender in U.S. government censorship and media manipulation.

Thousands of employees have been fired in the push to downsize the federal government, which has also led to the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The White House has accused the former administration of censoring Americans speech in order to suppress views the government did not approve of.

Since taking office, however, Trump has sought to deport foreigners who took part in pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israels war in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack, accusing the protesters of