US anti-China misinformation is likely to continue under Trump, analysts say

Clock is ticking for Obama legacy operation, but Washington’s policy on information warfare is unlikely to change course

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The US State Department’s Global Engagement Centre was established to address “foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts” targeting the US and its allies. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:00pm, 24 Nov 2024

A bipartisan effort in the US that was meant to unite both sides of politics against foreign propaganda has backfired, with critics accusing it of censoring Americans, especially those on the right.

While the little-known branch of the State Department may shut down next month before president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, analysts predict that US policy on information warfare is unlikely to change course.

The Global Engagement Centre (GEC) was established in 2016 under former president Barack Obama to address “foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts” targeting the US and its allies.

The GEC’s mission was significantly broader than its predecessor, the Centre for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, which focused solely on countering terrorism.

Unless Congress acts to save it, the Obama legacy operation will shut down on December 23, when its seven-year mandate expires.

But the GEC’s potential shutdown does not mean the second Trump administration will lose sight or control of alleged propaganda from abroad, said Josef Mahoney, politics and international relations professor with the East China Normal University in Shanghai.