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 memorandums were signed under the Biden administration as part of an initiative led by the U.S. State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC).

James Rubin, who headed the center until December 2024, called the move to end the agreements a “unilateral act of disarmament” in the information war with Russia and China. He estimated that about 22 countries in Europe and Africa signed the memorandums last year.

Created in 2011 to combat terrorist propaganda and violent extremism online, the GEC’s mission was later expanded to include tracking and exposing foreign disinformation efforts.

Allies of Donald Trump criticized the Center’s work, accusing it of censorship. In December 2024, the Center was shut down, and its functions were transferred to a State Department unit, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in March would also be dismantled. According to him, under the Biden administration, the Center spent millions of dollars to “actively silence and censor the voices of Americans.”

In September 2024, the GEC accused the Russian state-funded channel RT of acting in the interests of Russian intelligence services through cyber-espionage and attempting to manipulate Moldova’s presidential election.