Global Engagement Center

Global Engagement Center (US/State Department, Organization)
Formation	April 2016
Parent organization	US/Department/State
A "de facto U.S. government propaganda operation" run by the US State department.

The Global Engagement Center of the US State department is summarised by Max Blumenthal and Mark Ames as a "de facto U.S. government propaganda operation".

Official narrative

The website stated in February 2019 that "The Global Engagement Center is charged with leading the U.S. government’s efforts to counter propaganda and disinformation from international terrorist organizations and foreign countries... The Financial Year 2017 NDAA expanded the GEC’s mission to include countering the adverse effects of state-sponsored propaganda and disinformation."

Inaction

The New York Times reported in 2018 that " the State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has been allocated since late 2016 to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy. As a result, not one of the 23 analysts working in the department’s Global Engagement Center — which has been tasked with countering Moscow’s disinformation campaign — speaks Russian, and a department hiring freeze has hindered efforts to recruit the computer experts needed to track the Russian efforts."

Institute for Statecraft

The UK Deep state faction the Institute for Statecraft utilised the GEC for at least one cluster of deep state operatives working to produce "cyberwarfare" against Russia.

Hunter Treseder is a communication expert mentioned as member of the Dutch Cluster of the II. He worked for the Global Engagement Center, especially focused on Russia, as an acting director battling Russian "fake news" during the 2010s.

Hunter B. Treseder worked at the same GEC that fellow II member Jerry Sullivan tried to get backing for, until at one point Secretary of State Rex Tillerson refused it. Treseder worked on the "Russia Threat Team" and got promoted all the way to acting director. Interesting to note is that Hunter B. Treseder also engaged in meetings with EUdisinfo, an organisation close with Yevhen Fedchenko's Stopfake and Disinfoportal.

Treseder here in a meeting with GEC member Patricia Watts (second left) and two undisclosed European contacts from EUvsDisinfo.

Colleague Jerry Sullivan has a long history of pieces and studies on Russia, one of his more notable mentions is being the leading lobbyist - being employed as Chief, Countering Propaganda/Disinformation - on behalf of the Department of State for the US Congress resulting in them enacting section 1287 of the National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2017 for the US Global Engagement Center, a state department division focused on "countering foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation targeting the United States and U.S. interests", even against the advice of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson - reportedly, because his aides opted to fund muslim countries to tackle "fake news" instead of throwing $60 million to an undisclosed organization - even rejected any idea of more funding for the GEC. Where this money was headed to if Tillerson had not refused, nobody is willing to explain citing "fear for their jobs", which is kind of strange with all the leaking in the white house during this decade, and with this being an already established organisation, with a relatively small financial request.

Sullivan worked together with Chris Quick, who, after joining the Global Engagement Center he worked as the Deputy Chief Technology Officer being the primary data, analytics, and targeting lead for campaigns and social media data.

Section 1287 specifically changed the GEC main goal to "focus on countering terrorist and extremist groups" to "counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts", seemingly part of the rise of Western calls for a "Cold War 2.0".

Staff

• 2019 leader: Daniel Kimmage

 

Employees on Wikispooks

Employee	Job	Appointed	End	Description
Todd Leventhal	Senior Counter-Disinformation Adviser	December 2018
Todd Leventhal	Strategic Adviser	August 2018
Chris Quick	Director of Content	January 2018	January 2019
Hunter Treseder	Lead, Europe Engagement	September 2016	September 2017	Started working in D.C
Hunter Treseder	Chief, Global External Engagement - Russia Threat Team	September 2017	May 2019

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