State Department Agency Failing to Fully Counter Foreign Disinformation Campaigns, Says Watchdog

A misinformation newsstand aiming to educate news consumers about the dangers of disinformation, or fake news, in the lead-up to the U.S. midterm elections, in midtown Manhattan, on Oct. 30, 2018. Angela Weiss/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), which is tasked with countering disinformation, has been unable to completely fulfill its aim of exposing foreign propaganda, according to the department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG).

“Despite having a clear legal mandate to coordinate Department and interagency efforts to counter propaganda and disinformation by foreign state and non-state actors, the center’s legacy organizational structure, insufficient internal controls to properly manage contractors, and a limited strategic planning process affected its ability to fully meet its mission,” a Sept. 15 report by the OIG states (pdf).