The Foreign Malign Influence Center has been compared to the former Disinformation Governance Board.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has established the Foreign Malign Influence Center, seeking to limit so-called foreign influence on public opinion.
- The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is a high-level agency that oversees the Intelligence Community in the United States. As the head of the community, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is responsible for directing and supervising intelligence gathering and analysis functions performed by various agencies within the community.
- Since the center’s release, fears have emerged that the group will merely serve as a censorship organization against political discourse that runs contrary to the government’s interests.
- The United States Congress defines foreign malign influence as “any hostile effort undertaken by, at the direction of, or on behalf of or with the substantial support of, the government of a covered foreign country with the objective of influencing, through overt or covert means,” public opinion and elections.
- A “covered foreign country” includes Russia, Iran, North Korea, China, and “any other foreign country that the Director of the Center determines appropriate.”
- The congressional information notes that the organization may be considered for termination after December 31, 2028.
- The Foreign Malign Influence Center supports the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) “and others throughout the U.S. government in helping them to understand what are the plans and intentions of the key actors in this space — China, Russia, Iran, et cetera,” according to Director National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines.
- GEC has been criticized for its participation in censorship endeavors, leading to one official recently receiving a subpoena from Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) as part of his ongoing probe into the federal government’s involvement with Big Tech.
FOREIGN MALIGN INFLUENCE CENTER FACT SHEET:
- The mission behind the Foreign Malign Influence Center is to “counter enduring threats to democracy and U.S. national interests from foreign malign influence (FMI) actors by integrating analysis, managing the intelligence mission, nurturing partnerships, and providing indications and warning of foreign malign influence,” according to a fact sheet.
- “FMIC is the successor to the ODNI Election Threats Executive and serves as the primary U.S. Government organization for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired pertaining to FMI, including election security” through its utilization of “expertise from all elements of the IC [intelligence community], including elements with diplomatic and law enforcement functions,” the fact sheet reads.
- The director of the center also serves as the Election Threats Executive by “serving as the coordinating authority for the IC on election security and reporting directly to the DNI.”
- The stated values of the center include trust, transparency, and partnership.
BACKGROUND:
- American Faith reported that a new lawsuit alleges that Election Integrity Partnership and Virality Project colluded with the U.S. government in an effort to carry out extensive online censorship.
- “This case challenges probably the largest mass-surveillance and mass-censorship program in American history,” reads the lawsuit filed by America First Legal (AFL).
- The lawsuit accuses federal-level national security officials of leading the surveillance operation to bypass First Amendment speech protections.
