US, Australia Sign Agreements on Countering Disinformation, New Earth Mapping Mission

New arrangements will help stem the spread of misinformation across the Indo-Pacific, the US Secretary of State said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding on Countering Foreign State Information Manipulation and a joint communiqué on the US-Australia Landsat Next 2030 International Partnership Initiative, at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 5, 2024. Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images

According to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the spread of misinformation and disinformation poses a “threat across the Indo-Pacific,” and a new memorandum of understanding on Countering Foreign State Information Manipulation, signed with Australia, will help the two countries work together even more effectively to combat the problem.

The ceremony took place in Washington D.C. ahead of the upcoming AUSMIN discussions on Aug. 6 (Aug. 5 local time).

“We know that around the world, we are in an environment in which misinformation [and] disinformation is unfortunately a tool of choice for countries that are in adversarial relationships with both of our countries,” Blinken said.

Australia is the 20th country to sign such an agreement with the United States. Other partners include countries in Europe, Africa partners, East Asia, and elsewhere.

Strengthening Information Integrity

Blinken described it as enabling the signatories to “work together to identify misinformation and disinformation, and then to take effective steps together to combat it—sharing best practices, sharing other tools that we’ve developed; building greater resilience in our civil society, our institutions; strengthening information integrity across the entire digital ecosystem.”

The MOU meant the two countries “would expand information sharing and pursue complementary approaches to this threat across the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong, welcomed the agreement.

“In relation to foreign interference, I’d make this point—we’re democracies and we understand that part of what we do together in the world is to protect our political systems, our political traditions, our values,” she said.

“And that requires us to stand together against many risks and threats and challenges, and one of those is foreign interference.

“We recognise again that the choices we have had, and that we continue to have, demand the U.S. engagement, the U.S. security guarantee, which has enabled the long period of stability and prosperity we have enjoyed in the Indo-Pacific, which remains as vital today as ever.”

New Landsat Will Allow Mapping of Natural Resources

The two senior officials also signed a joint communique on the U.S.—Australia Landsat Next 2030 International Partnership Initiative.

Landsat is a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

It is the only U.S. satellite system that collects essential data on Earth’s geologic formations, natural habitats, coastlines, and other surface features at a landscape-scale resolution.

This data can be used to support efforts to improve environmental sustainability, climate change resiliency, and economic growth.

The “Landsat Next” mission is promoted as providing higher resolution, twice the current number of spectral bands, and improved local revisit time.

But Blinken also pointed out that it represents “an ability to really leap forward in how we map ... the planet’s environment and its natural resources... It will facilitate targeted resource exploration.  It will allow us to focus on our supply chain development for critical minerals.”

“Australia is particularly well positioned to play a critical role ... providing critical ground station infrastructure, personnel, services, and science.”

Wong echoed this, describing it as “about economic engagement, technology, [and] technological engagement.”