The State Department has closed all Frameworks to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation at the direction of Secretary Marco Rubio.
According to a statement by Principal Deputy Spokesperson Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, the closure follows Rubio’s April direction to close the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) Hub, previously known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC).
“The Framework, initially launched by the GEC to counter so-called disinformation, devolved into tools for political censorship instead of protecting Americans from foreign adversarial propaganda,” Pigott said, adding, “Through free speech, the United States will counter genuine malign propaganda from adversaries that threaten our national security, while protecting Americans’ right to exchange ideas.”
Rubio’s April announcement of the closure of the (R/FIMI) noted that the previous administration “spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving.” He called the action “antithetical to the very principles we should be upholding,” noting that it was “inconceivable it was taking place in America.”
The State Department’s actions stand in support of President Trump’s January 20 Executive Order on Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship. Trump’s order ensures that “no taxpayer resources are used to engage in or facilitate any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen” and secures the “right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech.”
Open the Books reported in 2024 that the Biden administration spent more than a quarter of a billion taxpayer dollars on “misinformation” efforts.
