JRL NEWSWATCH: “Don’t defund the fight against Russia and China’s disinformation” – Washington Post
“Two authoritarian U.S. adversaries, Russia and China … carry[] out what some … call[] a ‘hidden war on democracy,’ attempting to shape global opinion using deception and false narratives. … Russia [reportedly] spends about $1.5 billion a year and China $7 billion or more annually to influence overseas audiences. … The Global Engagement Center (GEC), headquartered at the State Department, deploys a $61 million budget and a staff of 125 to counter disinformation from Russia, China, Iran and terrorist organizations … founded as part of the fight against terrorist messaging. It is due for congressional reauthorization by the end of this year. A measure has cleared the Senate, but the Republican-controlled House has refused to follow suit … [T]he program could lapse. … Conservatives in Congress and elsewhere have complained that the center is part of an effort to muffle conservative speech and ideas in the United States. ….”