U.S. Quits Joint Disinformation Fight with Europe Against Russia, China, Iran

The United States has pulled out of coordinated efforts with European allies to counter disinformation campaigns by Russia, China, and Iran, according to European officials briefed on the decision.

The Gaze reports this, referring to the Financial Times.

Last week the State Department notified European governments it would terminate memoranda of understanding signed under the Biden administration in 2024. 

Those agreements were designed to build a unified strategy for identifying and exposing foreign disinformation intended to sow chaos and undermine democratic institutions.

The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration dismantles agencies set up to protect U.S. election integrity and confront foreign influence operations at home and abroad.

The memoranda had been part of an initiative led by the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), which was created in 2011 to combat terrorist propaganda and later expanded to track disinformation campaigns by hostile governments. 

The center was shut down last December after Republicans in Congress blocked renewal of its mandate, and a temporary replacement office was dissolved by the Trump administration in April.

James Rubin, who led the GEC until late 2024, called the U.S. withdrawal “a unilateral act of disarmament” in the information war with Moscow and Beijing. “Information warfare is the reality of our time, and artificial intelligence will only multiply the risks associated with it,” he said.

Russia has significantly expanded its disinformation efforts in recent years, aiming to erode Western unity and weaken support for Ukraine. 

Last September, the GEC accused state-funded broadcaster RT of acting on behalf of Russian intelligence, engaging in cyber-espionage, and attempting to manipulate Moldova’s presidential elections. 

The U.S. imposed sanctions on RT and other Russian state outlets, which had already been banned in the EU and UK following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

European officials have also raised alarms. Czech intelligence chief Michal Koudelka recently warned that Moscow seeks to fracture social cohesion and erode public trust in institutions, law, and international authority. 

In Moldova, President Maia Sandu said Russia is preparing “unprecedented interference” in upcoming parliamentary elections through disinformation campaigns, paid protests, and attempts to sabotage diaspora voting.

As The Gaze previously reported, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), Ruslan Stefanchuk, called on the international community to counter Russian disinformation and strengthen support for Ukraine at the G7 Parliamentary Summit in Ottawa.