The US State Department’s controversial Global Engagement Center is shutting down, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday.
“I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC),” he said.
According to the Secretary of State, under the administration of President Joe Biden, R/FIMI spent millions of dollars to “actively silence and censor the voices of Americans.” At the same time, it cost taxpayers more than $50 million a year to maintain the centre.
Rubio added that every US government employee is obliged to constantly work to preserve and protect freedom of speech for the citizens of the country.
Earlier, employees of US President Donald Trump’s administration, including Elon Musk, criticised the work of this division of the State Department. According to them, despite its international mission, the centre censored American conservatives.
The centre, reorganised from the GEC, was created at the end of 2024. The US side cited the goal of creating the State Department unit as combating disinformation campaigns by foreign governments, including Russia, Iran and China.
The decision to close the centre drew criticism in Europe. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the party Debout la France (France Arise), wrote on X:
“A victory for free speech! Trump shuts down US federal censorship centre Countering Manipulation and Interference with Foreign Information. An end to $50 million for spying on opinions. The EU and some of our neighbours would do well to take note of this, rather than sending the police after a tweet.”
