Global Engagement Center

The Global Engagement Center (GEC) is an agency within the Bureau of Global Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Established in 2016, its mission is to "direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations."[1]

Global Engagement Center (GEC)
Agency overview
Formed2016
HeadquartersWashington D.C.
Agency executive
Parent departmentUS Department of State
Parent agencyBureau of Global Public Affairs
Websitehttps://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-public-diplomacy-and-public-affairs/global-engagement-center/

Origins and establishment

Executive Order 13584 of 2011 established the State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) to support "agencies in Government-wide public communications activities targeted against violent extremism and terrorist organizations.” [2] Five years later on March 14, 2016, Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13721[3] which renamed CSCC as the Global Engagement Center while retaining its counterterrorism mission.[4][5][6]

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 expanded GEC's mission by giving it the authority to address other foreign propaganda and disinformation operations.[7] The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 further expanded GEC's scope of work, including endowing it with a mandate, as reflected in its current mission statement.[8][1]

Leadership

Michael D. Lumpkin directed GEC from January 2016 to January 2017.[9][10] Lea Gabrielle served at the post from February 11, 2019 to February 19, 2021.[11]

In December 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the appointment of James P. Rubin as GEC Special Envoy and Coordinator, reporting to the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.[12]

Activities

GEC's core work is divided into five interconnected areas, summarized below:

  1. Analytics and Research: Collect data from foreign actors to produce and share analyses on foreign malign information influence operations with stakeholders within the State Department.
  2. International Partnerships: Participate in international coalitions/partnerships with foreign governments to coordinate counter-disinformation analyses and solutions.
  3. Programs and Campaigns: GEC houses teams focused on Russia, PRC, Iran, and Counterterrorism. It tailors initiatives and coordinates internally within the State Department as well as across agencies and with international allies.
  4. Exposure: Coordinate interagency exposure of foreign information influence activities.
  5. Technology Assessment and Engagement: Host private-sector technology demonstrations, assess counter-disinformation technologies, and identify technological solutions.[13]

In March 2020, then-GEC coordinator Lea Gabrielle testified[14] at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "The Global Engagement Center: Leading the United States Government's Fight Against Global Disinformation Threat."[15]

GEC also issues grants to support research identifying foreign disinformation campaigns.[16]

Recent publications
  • Global Engagement Center Special Report: How the People’s Republic of China Seeks to Reshape the Global Information Environment, September 28, 2023[17]

  • In its coverage of the report, The New York Times wrote: "The State Department accused China on Thursday of using “deceptive and coercive methods” to shape the global information environment, by acquiring stakes in foreign newspapers and television networks, using major social media platforms to promote its views and exerting pressure on international organizations and media outlets to silence critics of Beijing. The accusations, detailed in a report by the department’s Global Engagement Center, reflect worry in Washington that China’s information operations pose a growing security challenge to the United States and to democratic principles around the world by promoting “digital authoritarianism.”[18]

  • The Kremlin’s War Against Ukraine’s Children, August 24, 2023[19]
  • Gendered Disinformation: Tactics, Themes, and Trends by Foreign Malign Actors, March 27, 2023[20]
  • PRC Efforts To Manipulate Global Public Opinion on Xinjiang, August 24, 2022[21]
  • Report: RT and Sputnik’s Role in Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem, January 20, 2022[22]
  • GEC Special Report: Russia’s Pillars of Disinformation and Propaganda, August 2020[23]

Reception

Members of Congress, including Rob Portman and Chris Murphy, have criticized GEC's insufficient funding

See also

References
  1. "About Us - Global Engagement Center". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  2. "Executive Order 13584 --Developing an Integrated Strategic Counterterrorism Communications Initiative". whitehouse.gov. 2011-09-09. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  3. "Developing an Integrated Global Engagement Center To Support Government-wide Counterterrorism Communications Activities Directed Abroad and Revoking Executive Order 13584". unblock.federalregister.gov. Archived from the original on 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  4. "About Us - Global Engagement Center". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  5. "Global Engagement Center". 2009-2017.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  6. "Engaging Through Messaging - The New Global Engagement Center". Council of American Ambassadors. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  7. Weed, Matthew C. (August 4, 2017). "Global Engagement Center: Background and Issues" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  8. "John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, Section 1284, Modifications to Global Engagement Center, P.L. 115-232". Congress.gov. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  9. "A New Center for Global Engagement". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  10. "Lumpkin, Michael D." U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  11. "Lea Gabrielle". US Department of State. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  12. "Appointment of James P. Rubin as Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  13. "About Us - Global Engagement Center". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  14. "Before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development "Executing the Global Engagement Center's Mission"" (PDF). Senate Foreign Relations Committee. March 5, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  15. "THE GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER: LEADING THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT'S FIGHT AGAINST GLOBAL DISINFORMATION THREAT". www.foreign.senate.gov. 2020-03-05. Archived from the original on 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  16. "SFOP0009762 Identify and Expose Kremlin Disinformation Networks, Department of State, Bureau of Global Public Affairs". www.grants.gov. June 16, 2023. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  17. "GEC Special Report: How the People's Republic of China Seeks to Reshape the Global Information Environment". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  18. Myers, Steven Lee (September 28, 2023). "China Uses 'Deceptive' Methods to Sow Disinformation, U.S. Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  19. "The Kremlin's War Against Ukraine's Children". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  20. "Gendered Disinformation: Tactics, Themes, and Trends by Foreign Malign Actors". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  21. "PRC Efforts To Manipulate Global Public Opinion on Xinjiang". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  22. "Report: RT and Sputnik's Role in Russia's Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  23. "GEC Special Report: Russia's Pillars of Disinformation and Propaganda". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
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