The United States has formally informed European nations of its intention to discontinue the collaborative effort to combat disinformation emanating from Russia, China and Iran.
Last week, official correspondence from the State Department notified approximately 22 countries across Europe and Africa that the memoranda of understanding signed during the prior Biden administration would be terminated.
These agreements were originally brokered under the aegis of the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a State Department agency tasked with identifying and exposing malign information campaigns orchestrated by foreign governments and terrorist entities. They embodied a unified approach among partner countries aimed at countering such threats.
The Demise of the Global Engagement Centre
The Global Engagement Center was established in 2016 with a mandate to recognise, understand, expose, and counter foreign propaganda and disinformation targeting the United States and its allies. In December 2024, Congress declined to renew its funding, prompting its closure and subsequent reorganisation into the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Office (R/FIMI). In April 2025, under the Trump administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the complete dissolution of R/FIMI, labelling it wasteful and accusing it of engaging in censorship.
The termination of the memoranda of understanding represents the final phase in dismantling the initiative, marking a complete cessation of the collaborative framework established to combat foreign disinformation.
Reactions from Former Leadership
James Rubin, who served as head of the GEC until December 2024, characterised the US decision as a “unilateral act of disarmament” in what he termed the modern “information war” against Russia and China. He emphasised the intensifying threat posed by artificial intelligence technologies in amplifying disinformation risks.
Wider Strategic Context
This move is consistent with a broader pattern of rollback in US-led initiatives aimed at countering foreign malign influence. Earlier in 2025, the Trump administration suspended multiple national security programmes focused on countering Russian sabotage, disinformation and cyberattacks—initiatives originally established under the Biden administration.
Furthermore, funding cuts to international broadcasting efforts such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty—regarded as pillars of democratisation and counter-propaganda—have prompted concern across both sides of the Atlantic.
Implications for European Security Strategy
The United States’ withdrawal from the GEC framework leaves a vacuum in organised transatlantic efforts to address disinformation campaigns from so-called adversarial states.
European officials have expressed alarm at the abrupt termination of joint mechanisms, especially in light of the increasing sophistication and frequency of state-sponsored information operations.
The shift places greater onus on European institutions and governments to develop endogenous strategies and coalitions to preserve information integrity in the face of evolving threats.
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