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State Department says it ended unit tied to labeling U.S. voices, pledges public documentation
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Summary
In a recorded interview, the secretary of state said the department has defunded and dismantled a unit and partner network that labeled and flagged American political voices, and pledged a transparency effort to document who was affected.
The secretary of state announced in a broadcast interview that the U.S. Department of State has ended what he described as a government-sponsored effort that had, over time, labeled and helped deplatform American political voices.
The secretary said the effort began 10 to 15 years ago to counter online messaging from extremist groups, then expanded after 2016 to address foreign interference, and by 2020 had grown into efforts targeting individual American speakers. "They were literally tagging and labeling voices in American politics," he said, naming "Ben Shapiro, the Federalist, others" as examples of labeled entities.
The secretary characterized those practices as unacceptable and said the department has disbanded the unit, renamed and moved its functions and cut funding tied to the program. "We ended government sponsored, censorship in The United States through the state department," he said. He added that remaining spending will support what he described as "pro‑American messaging" and efforts that protect and incentivize free speech.
Why it matters: the secretary framed the change as both a corrective step for past harm and a policy choice about how the United States should respond to falsehoods. He said the preferred remedy is to use free speech to counter disinformation rather than to label or remove speakers. "The best way to counter disinformation... is free speech," he said.
On transparency and accountability, the secretary said the department will document the prior activity so individuals who believe they were harmed can show evidence and so the practice cannot recur. "People who are harmed deserve to know that and be able to prove that they were harmed," he said, and promised a process to link instances of deplatforming to any information that had come from State Department‑funded work.
He also referenced journalists' efforts to obtain records of grants and contracts tied to the program and said the department will pursue a more formal disclosure. "This is a program that has been shrouded in secrecy," he said, noting reporters such as Matt Taibbi had encountered obstacles to getting documents.
The secretary named the Global Engagement Center partner ecosystem and outside nongovernmental organizations as intermediaries that had received funding and performed labeling work, and he singled out the need for cross‑jurisdictional review to trace how specific individuals may have been deplatformed. He said some high‑profile cases are already known and that the department will look for everyday Americans who may have been affected in 2020 and 2021.
On the international dimension, the secretary warned that foreign laws and multilateral rules — including the European Union's Digital Services Act and related voluntary "codes" — can have extra‑territorial effects on Americans living or posting abroad. He said the department will raise these concerns in diplomatic discussions and prioritize the impact on U.S. citizens. "Our number 1 priority is Americans," he said, adding that when foreign entities take actions that go after Americans for speech it becomes a "foreign policy irritant" and in some cases an impediment to cooperation.
The secretary also referenced threats of fines against X (formerly Twitter) under the EU regime and expressed concern about foreign regulatory pressure on platforms. He said the department's approach is to counter falsehoods with truthful messaging rather than to seek removal or punishment of speakers.
The interview touched on next steps: creating a written record, establishing a process for aggrieved parties to present evidence, and conducting cross‑jurisdictional investigations where necessary. The secretary said the work to document the depth and scope of past activity has already begun but did not give a timeline for completion.
No formal votes or legislative actions were recorded in the interview. The secretary acknowledged ongoing lawsuits and said the department will work to document events in a way that supports accountability and prevents recurrence.
