US EditionUS steps back from joint efforts to combat misinformation, FT reports
The U.S. State Department ended cooperation with about 22 countries in Europe and Africa to combat foreign disinformation amid political criticism and budget cuts.
- The U.S. State Department notified European countries in early September 2025 that it is terminating memoranda of understanding to combat foreign disinformation campaigns.
- These memoranda, signed under the Biden administration in 2024 and led by the Global Engagement Center, aimed to counter misinformation from Russia, China, and Iran.
- The GEC, created in 2011 to fight terrorist propaganda and later expanded to foreign disinformation, was closed in December 2024 with its functions transferred within the State Department.
- James Rubin, former director of the Global Engagement Center, criticized the termination of the agreements as a one-sided weakening of the United States' efforts in the ongoing information conflicts involving Russia and China, emphasizing that artificial intelligence will exacerbate these challenges.
- The U.S. withdrawal signals a step back from coordinated efforts with about 22 countries, potentially weakening collective capacity to expose harmful foreign misinformation.
6 Articles
6 Articles
U.S. tells Europe it’s ending cooperation on combating foreign disinformation, including from Russia
The U.S. State Department has notified European countries that it’s terminating memorandums of understanding to cooperate on detecting and exposing disinformation spread by countries including Russia, China, and Iran, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing three European officials.
The United States is breaking agreements with European countries that dealt with the fight against disinformation from Russia, China and Iran.
The US government has notified its European partners of the withdrawal of several memorandums of understanding signed by the Biden Administration to coordinate the fight against disinformation from hostile countries, a decision that shows a change in Washington's strategy and that comes after the closure of the Global Engagement Center.
According to a report by the Financial Times, the US government has abandoned agreements with European countries to combat disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran. The article US end international fight against fake news first appeared on THE-DECODER.de.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 100% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
