Key facts
- Leaked documents from the US State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC) do not demonstrate domestic censorship, according to former officials.
- The GEC, which focused on countering foreign propaganda, was disbanded in 2025.
- Critics had accused the GEC of being involved in censoring conservative speech in the US.
- The leaked files include a 2022 GEC report on 'gendered disinformation' and information related to its funding of the Global Disinformation Index.
- The State Department is preparing a new $11 million campaign to counter Chinese propaganda in Southeast Asia using social media influencers.
Leaked documents, purportedly intended to prove that a US State Department office engaged in domestic censorship, actually show no such activity, according to former officials from the Global Engagement Center (GEC).
The GEC, established to combat foreign propaganda, was a target of conservative criticism, with allegations that it was used to suppress rightwing speech. The office lost its funding in 2024 and was disbanded in 2025.
Former GEC officials Daniel Kimmage and Carrie Goux assert that the leaked files, including a 2022 report on 'gendered disinformation,' do not support claims of domestic censorship. They argue the GEC's mandate was explicitly foreign-facing, focused on countering influence operations from countries like Russia, China, and Iran.
Sarah Rogers, a State Department undersecretary, provided the files to online analyst Jennica Pounds, who then claimed she was being 'entrapped.' Rogers subsequently published the files herself, accusing GEC officials of betraying their mission.
Critics, including Republican congressmen, had previously argued that the GEC was complicit in stretching the definition of disinformation to censor conservative speech. This viewpoint gained traction within the federal government following Donald Trump's return to the presidency.
The dispute also involves the GEC's funding of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a UK-based non-profit that rates media outlets. A separate GDI study rating conservative US outlets as high-risk fueled accusations of meddling in domestic politics.
Kimmage and Goux maintain that the GEC never targeted Americans and fulfilled its congressional mandate to fight foreign misinformation. Kimmage specifically addressed his own congressional testimony included in the leak, stating it was selectively read and that the GEC did not take positions on US outlets.
During its existence, the GEC published reports on Russian and Chinese information operations and exposed disinformation campaigns. In January 2024, it helped broker an international pact on countering foreign state disinformation.
An inspector general review in 2022 found the GEC 'generally effective' while noting weaknesses in internal controls. Bipartisan support for the center waned, however, with House Republicans ultimately declining to reauthorize it.
Less than a year after the GEC's closure, the State Department is planning an $11 million, multi-year campaign to counter Chinese propaganda in Southeast Asia. This initiative, operated by the US Mission to ASEAN, involves paying social media influencers and training journalists.