US office that counters foreign disinformation is being eliminated
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Summary
The US State Department’s office dedicated to tracking and combating foreign disinformation, known as the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) Hub reports on foreign governments’ disinformation campaigns has been shut down after a restructuring.
The office addressed growing concerns about the increasingly sophisticated disinformation campaigns from Russia, China and Iran.
R/FIMI was formed after the previous organisation, the Global Engagement Center (GEC), was accused of infringing free speech and was shut down after Republicans in Congress blocked its $61m budget renewal.
The GEC was also sued by The Daily Wire and The Federalist, the lawsuits alleged that the centre was “starving them of advertising revenue and reducing the circulation of their reporting and speech”.
Following the closure, the State Department will not have a dedicated team to monitor and fight disinformation.