Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the closure of the controversial Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Office (R/FIMI) Wednesday, following allegations that it censored American citizens during the Biden administration.
The Details: The R/FIMI, renamed from the Global Engagement Center (GEC) during Biden's final months in office, was intended to counter foreign disinformation. However, it faced criticism for allegedly suppressing free speech and applying undue pressure on American social media platforms to censor individuals and news organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rubio argued that the center was “antithetical to the very principals we should be upholding and inconceivable it was taking place in America.” Rubio said Darren Beattie led the effort to shut down the center and will now begin to document who was impacted by the center.
For Context: The GEC was initially established following an Obama-era executive order to counter online Islamic State radicalization and violent extremism. Its mandate was later expanded to counteract attempts by foreign nations to influence US elections.
How The Media Covered It: The Washington Post (Lean Left) and The Guardian (Left) highlighted contradictions in Rubio's ethos, noting that he once argued that countering Chinese disinformation was critical, and he currently faces his own accusations of speech suppression related to the deportation of pro-Palestinian immigrants. Both outlets also noted that Beattie was fired from the first Trump administration for his involvement in a white nationalist conference. The National Review (Lean Right) and New York Post (Lean Right) did not mention the perceived contradictions, extensively quoting Rubio in their pieces. Both mentioned the GEC's funding of the Global Disinformation Index, a British non-profit that has faced criticism for labeling right-wing outlets as disinformation purveyors.
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Rubio Shutters State Department’s Online Censorship Office
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is shuttering the State Department’s online speech censorship office after the Biden administration opted to rebrand the office amid Republican scrutiny last year.
Rubio announced the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, previously known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a unit that originated with a counterterrorism mission but quickly transformed into a tool for online speech suppression of Americans.
Rubio shuts State Dept. foreign disinformation office, citing censorship
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the State Department is closing an office designed to counter foreign disinformation, stating that the effort had “spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans.”