US burns millions ‘fighting propaganda’
Date
12/30/2024 6:34:02 AM
(MENAFN) The U.S. government has closed down the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a costly initiative initially created by President Obama in 2016 to combat terrorist propaganda. However, the center shifted focus under pressure from Congress, concentrating on supposed Russian election interference, effectively promoting its own narrative of such interference. Despite receiving $61 million annually, the GEC produced a mere eight reports over several years, including one bizarrely titled “Gendered Disinformation.”
The center’s efforts also included promoting Russian-linked media and issuing press releases about minor figures, such as Dmitri Peskov, Russia's communications chief, while presenting them as major finds. It further amplified Russian media channels, inadvertently giving them free advertising. In addition to targeting Russia, the GEC also focused on China, accusing it of digital authoritarianism and censorship. Yet, the center failed to address other international issues, such as the questionable actions of French President Macron towards Telegram founder Pavel Durov or the problematic historical revisions related to Ukraine’s Azov Battalion.
More recently, the center partnered with Kiev and Poland to counter Russian narratives, but its efforts were often criticized for inconsistencies and for failing to address problematic myths promoted by Ukraine, like the Ghost of Kiev or Snake Island hero stories. Furthermore, the center remained silent on the controversial Nord Stream pipeline incident, which was blamed on Ukraine by some, raising questions about the U.S. narrative. The GEC’s shutdown highlights the wasteful spending on an operation that, critics argue, was more about political narrative-building than effective counter-propaganda. In the wake of the shutdown, its failures are being widely acknowledged, with growing concerns about similar initiatives in the future.
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