2025-09-13 15:52
publication
2025-09-13 15:52
The US informed partners about withdrawing from joint activities to combat disinformation, “Financial Times said. According to Andrzej Dąbrowski, the United States will continue to give up the initiatives that Trump's administration perceives as limiting freedom of speech.
Last week, the State Department sent a notification about the termination of contracts, which were signed in 2024, during President Joe Biden's term of office, “FT” said on Monday. These agreements were aimed at developing a uniform approach to identifying and disclosing disinformation distributed by the governments of other countries. The institution in 2024 concluded a contract with the Polish cooperation regarding cooperation in the fight against disinformation.
The decision to break the agreements was made shortly after the administration of US President Donald Trump closed some government agencies, including in April the Office for Counteracting Foreign Interference and Manipulation of Information (R/Fimi). As the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced then, this office “censored Americans.”
“It is the duty of every government official to constantly work on the preservation and protection of the Americans' freedom. That is why (today) I announce the closure of the Office for preventing foreign interference and manipulation of information (r/fim) of the State Department, formerly known as Global Engagement Center (GEC)” – wrote in Rubio's statement. As we read further, “during the previous administration (Joe Biden – PAP) is an office that cost taxpayers over $ 50 million per year, spent millions of dollars on active silence and censorship of the voices of Americans, which it was to serve.”
According to James Rubin, cited by “FT”, who managed GEC until December 2024, the termination of the agreements was “a unilateral act of disarmament in the information war with Russia and China.” He added that about 22 countries in Europe and Africa signed these documents.
Andrzej Dąbrowski, US analyst in writings, told PAP that Trump's administration is moving away from the Soft Power concept, understood as offering benefits and services to other countries. – Now the main tool of American foreign policy is to exert pressure – economic, diplomatic and sometimes also military, as in the case of Venezuela recently – the expert explained.
He added, taking into account the current approach of President Trump and his colleagues to the issue of freedom of speech, one can expect further withdrawal of the federal government from initiatives, which – in the opinion of administration – could limit this freedom.
Dąbrowski said it was a kind of return to the United States roots. – Some will see the wild West in this – the one who reaches for the revolver wins. Others, however, will see in this additional and specifically understood juridization of life – if someone does not like something, let him go to court or learn to live with it – the interlocutor of PAP outlined.
He also reminded that the first amendment to the constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, first refers to the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech related to it-that is, the right to “self-determination in the metaphysical and public dimension.” – Meanwhile, Trump's administration is in favor of the fact that freedom of speech should be absolutely unlimited – noted Andrzej Dąbrowski.
The GEC launched in 2016 was criticized by some of the Republicans, conservative environments and Elon Musk, who accused the censorship of right -wing votes on the network. Although Rubio did not give examples of the alleged silence of conservatives, it probably includes For the list of potential accounts selected by GEC as related to Chinese, Indian or Iranian influence operations. This case was disclosed after the takeover of Twitter (currently X) by Elon Musk. According to journalist Matt Taibbi, who analyzed the content of revealed emails, some of them belonged to ordinary American users of the X platform.
In June last year, GEC concluded with the Polish agreement on “Cooperation to counteract information manipulation by third countries”. As part of Poland, a team for the fight against Russian disinformation on Ukraine was created in Poland, which was attended by representatives of 12 other countries.
In 2024, the office also participated in disclosure how representatives of Kremlin television paid, on the order of Russian intelligence, right -wing influencers for promoting Russian narratives.
As in December, “Guardian” said, GEC played a key role in revealing significant disinformation campaigns in Latin America and Moldova, including a complex Russian surgery in Africa called the “African initiative”. The purpose of this campaign was to weaken US and West influence by spreading conspiracy theories about the US -financed health programs via websites and channels on a telegram and accounts on other social platforms. (PAP)
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