The U.S. State Department has formed a new partnership with the Defense Department to counter propaganda and disinformation from foreign nations, it was announced today. The partnership will initially be funded with $40 million, transferred from the Pentagon to the State Department’s Global Engagement Center.
The partnership creates an Information Access Fund that will support combined efforts from public and private groups to counter misinformation campaigns from foreign nations. Civil society groups, content providers, private companies and academic institutions, among other groups, will be able to compete for grants to fund their counter-propaganda efforts. The State Department plans to award $5 million in funding, including $1 million in initial seed money to kick-start the initiative.
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein said today’s announcement underscores the commitment the U.S. has to fighting foreign propaganda and interference.
“This funding is critical to ensuring that we continue an aggressive response to malign influence and disinformation and that we can leverage deeper partnerships with our allies, Silicon Valley, and other partners in this fight,” he said. “It is not merely a defensive posture that we should take, we also need to be on the offensive.”
The efforts mirrors similar efforts by other nations, including Sweden to fortify their public information, as well as election systems, against both foreign and domestic misinformation campaigns.