The weaponization of government has gone too far. You can lay the blame at Biden’s feet.
And now Biden’s State Department was caught targeting these Americans for a gut wrenching reason.
The Biden administration’s State Department took a hit this week as the controversial Global Engagement Center (GEC) shut its doors after congressional lawmakers refused to reauthorize the agency in government funding legislation.
“The Global Engagement Center closed on December 23, 2024,” stated a message on the now-defunct agency’s website.
House Republicans had placed the GEC squarely in their crosshairs after journalist Matt Taibbi revealed damning evidence showing the agency pressured American social media platforms during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to suppress content it deemed “disinformation.” This included efforts to bury discussions of theories suggesting the virus originated from a Chinese lab — claims now viewed by many as credible.
“We learned Twitter, Facebook, Google, and other companies developed a formal system for taking in moderation ‘requests’ from every corner of government: the FBI, DHS, HHS, DOD, the Global Engagement Center at State, even the CIA,” Taibbi testified before Congress in March 2023, following his explosive “Twitter Files” revelations.
Adding to the scandal, the Washington Examiner exposed that the GEC had awarded $100,000 in grants to the London-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI) in 2021 and 2022. This so-called media watchdog later labeled 10 outlets, including the New York Post, as “disinformation” spreaders — an accusation many view as thinly veiled partisan censorship.
Republicans have blasted the GEC for going far beyond its original mission of combating foreign propaganda and instead targeting American voices, particularly conservative ones.
“This is an entity that is funded to censor conservatives,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) declared during last week’s spending bill debate. “We should not be doing any of this stuff.”
Elon Musk, who took over Twitter in 2022 in a move to protect free speech, has called the GEC the “worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation.”
The GEC’s closure raises serious questions about the Biden administration’s approach to free speech and government overreach. Many Americans are left wondering how an agency tasked with addressing foreign disinformation ended up silencing domestic voices critical of the government.
For an administration that promised to “restore the soul of America,” its track record on protecting the First Amendment seems to be on shaky ground.
The controversy surrounding the GEC is just one piece of a larger puzzle. Under the Biden administration, numerous government entities have been accused of working hand-in-glove with Big Tech to control narratives.
Whether it’s suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story, downplaying concerns about inflation, or stifling debate on COVID-19 policies, the pattern is hard to ignore.
Critics argue that the GEC’s shutdown is merely the tip of the iceberg. They believe other agencies with similar missions may still be operating in the shadows, continuing to influence what Americans see and hear online.
Without robust oversight, they warn, the cycle of government meddling could persist unchecked.
The Biden administration, for its part, has remained largely silent on the GEC’s closure.
However, Republicans have vowed to keep the heat on, with plans to scrutinize other agencies involved in what they see as a coordinated effort to silence conservative voices.
The GEC, established in 2016 with a $61 million budget and 120 employees, may be gone, but its legacy lingers as a stark reminder of how unchecked government power can threaten the very freedoms it’s supposed to protect.
For many, the GEC’s demise is not just a victory for conservatives — it’s a warning shot to any administration that dares to trample on the rights of the American people.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
