Secretary Rubio Permanently Shuts Down State Department's Controversial Censorship Office - Faith & Freedom News

Secretary Rubio Eliminates Controversial State Department “Censorship Office”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday the permanent closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) office, previously known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC). The controversial program had allegedly “spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” according to Rubio.

Key Points About the Closure:

All 30 full-time staff placed on leave
50 full-time positions eliminated
Congress officially notified of R/FIMI’s dissolution
Annual taxpayer savings of $65 million

“GEC was supposed to be dead already,” Rubio declared in a Federalist op-ed. The legislative authority for GEC had expired on December 23, 2024, after House Republicans declined to extend its mandate.

From Counterterrorism to Domestic Censorship

Originally established by President Obama in March 2016 to counter foreign terrorism communications, the GEC’s mission later expanded to include countering “foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts.”

However, according to congressional investigations, the office became increasingly focused on monitoring domestic speech:

How the GEC Operated:

Rather than directly censoring Americans (which would raise First Amendment concerns), GEC outsourced to what critics called a “censorship-industrial complex”
Collaborated with private institutions through the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) to “monitor and censor Americans’ online speech” before the 2020 election
Provided funding to companies like NewsGuard that rated news outlet trustworthiness with what critics described as “leftward bias”

Biden Administration Attempted to Preserve Censorship Office

When Republicans in Congress ended GEC funding last year, “the Biden State Department simply slapped on a new name,” Rubio stated. “The GEC became the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R-FIMI) office with the same roster of employees.”

This name change appeared to be an attempt to preserve the office during the presidential transition. “Today, we are putting that to an end,” Rubio declared. “Whatever name it goes by, GEC is dead. It will not return.”

Operational Problems Beyond Censorship Concerns

A 2022 State Department Inspector General report identified several operational issues with the GEC:

Poor internal structure
Conflict with other State Department units
Competition with more effective “counter-disinformation efforts housed in other government agencies”

For the second time in four months, the State Department has declared an end to its domestic censorship operations. This time, according to Secretary Rubio, “the GEC is dead for good.”

“Over the last decade, Americans have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions,” wrote Rubio. “That ends today.”