A subagency within the U.S. State Department accused of censoring Americans online will be taken offline this week after being starved of funding by Congress.
The Global Engagement Center (GEC), whose stated mission is to analyze foreign disinformation, “will terminate by operation of law [by the end of the day] on December 23, 2024,” a spokesperson told Fox News in a statement. “The Department of State has consulted with Congress regarding next steps.”
The closure comes shortly after Elon Musk cited the GEC, established in 2016, as the “worst offender in U.S. government censorship & media manipulation” and cheered its stripped funding as part of an annual renewal of the Pentagon’s budget.
Conservatives revolted against the GEC during last week’s fight over preventing a government shutdown. Originally funded as part of a bipartisan deal struck by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), the GEC’s $61 million annual budget was zeroed out in a bargain to garner more Republican support for the measure. It remains unclear what will happen to the department’s 120 staff members.
During congressional debate, Republicans argued that the GEC’s efforts to untangle disinformation sown by Iran, Russia, and other foreign adversaries were largely unnecessary and already