State Department shutters Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office

Serious stuff! Will there any be any substitute? Could this be a mistake by President Trump?

How massive are foreign influence and disinformation campaigns by Russia and China in Western countries? I am afraid, the public is left in the dark! E.g. how much money are Russia and China donating to divisive political activism in Western countries? I bet a lot!

"A small office in the State Department tasked with monitoring foreign disinformation threats was shuttered Wednesday by the Trump administration, the latest in a series of steps the White House has taken since January to dismantle entities that monitor foreign influence and information campaigns, or respond to them. As that effort continues, experts say, the United States and audiences around the world could be left virtually defenseless against increasing Chinese and Russian efforts to turn global populations against the United States. 

But that’s not how the administration sees it. “Over the last decade, Americans have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions. ... the closure of the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference hub, known as R/Fimi. 

R/Fimi was a remnant of the Global Engagement Center, which was created in 2016 by the Obama administration to counter Russian disinformation efforts. Rubio said the GEC “actively silenced and censored the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” ...

The closure is only the latest move in a pattern that has been building for months. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the dissolution of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force—the unit dedicated to investigating foreign disinformation and influence campaigns (including election interference) ..."

Shuttering of State office leaves US largely defenseless against foreign influence warfare, officials say - Defense One "‘This is how we lose big wars,’ one former researcher said of the larger effort to eliminate or dismantle organizations that monitor and counter disinformation."