The US government has dedicated $40 million to counter so-called propaganda from foreign countries such as China, Russia and Iran, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2018) The US government has dedicated $40 million to counter so-called propaganda from foreign countries such as China, Russia and Iran, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters on Tuesday.
"In the end of September the Global Engagement Center obligated $40 million to support initiatives that counter disinformation propaganda spread by foreign countries," Palladino said. "This funding will support a variety of efforts to counter Russian, Iranian and Chinese disinformation and propaganda."
The initiatives to combat foreign disinformation, Palladino said, include deploying technology to provide early warnings, identifying susceptible audiences, and working with local social media influencers to produce content.
The endeavor will also focus on developing technical skills for civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, and journalists to "shed light on the spread of disinformation," he added.
The Global Engagement Center is an interagency entity housed at the State Department and tasked with coordinating US counterterrorism messaging to foreign audiences. The entity was created in March 2016 to counter messaging from the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).
Former US President Barack Obama signed the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that expanded the Global Engagement Center's mandate to counter messages from state actors like Russia and China.
The United States has introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia over the two nations' disagreements on the internal conflict in Ukraine and Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US election, allegations which Moscow has repeatedly denied.
