The State Department’s overseas propaganda facility, accused by republicans of banning U. S. residents, shut its doors due to lack of financing this month. Elon Musk had deemed the Global Engagement Center ( GEC ), established in 2016, the “worst offender in U. S. government censorship &, media manipulation”, and its funding was stripped as part of the National Defense Authorization Act ( NDAA ), the Pentagon’s yearly policy bill. A State Department spokesman said in a statement that” the Global Engagement Center will terminate by operation of law]by the end of the day ] on December 23, 2024. The Department of State consulted with Congress regarding the following steps, according to legislation that was originally approved by legislators as money for the GEC. However, that incarnation of the money bill was opposed by conservatives, and it was changed without money for the GEC and other financing riders. With 120 employees and a budget of about$ 61 million, the organization was operating. Republicans saw little value in the work of the agency, arguing that the private market is currently providing much of its propaganda research at a time when enemies like Iran and Russia pig propaganda all over the world. The GEC, according to columnist Matt Taibbi, “funded a key list of suppliers and helped pioneer an insidious—and idiotic—new kind of sanctioning” during the crisis. The GEC “flagged accounts as’Russian personalities and proxy”” according to Taibi last year when it exposed the Twitter Files based on the following:” Describe the Ebola as an engineered bioweapon; Blaming” study conducted at the Wuhan university; and” attributing the appearance of the disease to the CIA.” ” State likewise flagged accounts that tweeted reports that Twitter banned the well-known U.S. website ZeroHedge, claiming that it” caused yet another burst of disinformation narratives.” Several reports made by ZeroHedge suggested that the disease had a lab-like nature. The GEC works alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Special Operations Command, and the Department of Homeland Security. The GEC also funds the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab ( DFRLab ). Delisting AMERICANS DFRLab Director Graham Brookie recently refuted the claim that they use tax money to observe Americans, saying that the GEC’s grants have an “exclusive global focus.” In a 2024 report from the Republican-led House Small Business Committee, the GEC was criticized for giving grants to organizations whose work includes tracking local as well as international misinformation and grading the credibility of U.S. based publishers. The lawsuit was brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Daily Wire, and the Federalist, who earlier this month sued the State Department, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other government officials for “interfering in a conspiracy to censor, deplatform, and demonetize American media outlets disfavored by the federal government.” The Texas Attorney General’s Office stated in a press release that” Congress authorized the creation of the Global Engagement Center expressly to counter foreign propaganda and misinformation. ” Instead, the agency weaponized this authority to violate the First Amendment and suppress Americans ‘ constitutionally-protected speech. The State Department’s project is described as “one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press in the history of the nation,” according to the complaint. The Daily Wire, The Federalist, and other conservative news organizations were all blamed for the State Department’s “illegal censorship scheme,” which resulted in them receiving less money for advertising and fewer copies of their reporting and speeches. ” Meanwhile, America First Legal, headed up by Stephen Miller, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for deputy chief of staff for policy, revealed that the GEC had used taxpayer dollars to create a video game called” Cat Park” to” Inoculate Youth Against Disinformation “abroad. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe game” inoculates players… by showing how sensational headlines, memes, and manipulated media can be used to advance conspiracy theories and incite real-world violence, “according to a memo obtained by America First Legal. According to the Tennessee Star, Mike Benz, the executive director of the Foundation For Freedom Online, said the game was “anti-populist” and promoted some political beliefs in place of shielding Americans from foreign disinformation.
State Department’s ‘ International Engagement Center ‘ accused of censoring Americans shuts its windows
