During a recent Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Senator Marco Rubio disclosed that the State Department, under the Biden administration, had been maintaining confidential case files on American citizens. According to Rubio's statement, these files included social media activity, flagging individuals for allegedly spreading harmful or misleading information.
At the meeting, Rubio indicated that at least one former Trump administration official, who was present, had been subject to such scrutiny. "We had an office in the Department of State whose job it was to censor Americans," Rubio declared, as reported by Fox News. He further criticized the existence of this office as contrary to American principles, emphasizing transparency and freedom of speech as the true antidotes to disinformation.
The focus of these revelations is the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which was established to counteract foreign disinformation campaigns. However, the GEC has come under fire for extending its efforts to domestic political discourse, leading to allegations of censorship and suppression of free speech. This past month, Rubio oversaw the closure of the GEC as part of a comprehensive reform of the State Department.
Independent journalist Matt Taibbi's investigative work revealed that the GEC had blacklisted online accounts, branding them as "Russian personas and proxies" for making certain statements about the Coronavirus pandemic. Such actions have raised concerns about the potential overreach of the center's mandate.
Elon Musk, a tech entrepreneur who has frequently criticized government surveillance of online platforms, has also singled out the GEC for its role in U.S. government censorship. In a post on social media platform X, Musk called the GEC "the worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation," labeling it a danger to democracy. Musk's recent endorsement of Trump in the 2024 presidential election and his temporary role in the administration have further spotlighted the issue.
Despite the gravity of Rubio's claims, specifics regarding the targeted Trump official and the content of the case files remain undisclosed. The Trump administration has yet to respond to inquiries about these records.