53BloombergBusinessweek May 18, 2020
TwitterandYouTube,hasalsoblocked
postssharedbyBrazilianPresidentJair
Bolsonarothatquestionedtheneedfor
socialdistancingandrecommended
theuseofanunprovenantimalarial
drug,hydroxychloroquine, to treat
Covid-19.
Thingsgetmuddierthecloserthey
gettoPresidentTrump,though.Twitter
didn’tremovehispoststhatseemedto
suggestAmericansdisobeyshelter-in-
placeorders,andwildclaimsabout
hydroxychloroquine circulated on
socialnetworksafterTrumphypedthe
drugduringWhiteHousebriefings.
Meanwhile,techcompanieshave
questioned the GEC’s conclusions
aboutRussianandChineseinterfer-
ence. Twitter cooperated with the
GEC’srecentinvestigationintoChinese
attemptstomanipulatesocialnetworks
butsaysthatunliketheGEC,it could
notdefinitivelylinktheaccounts to
China.“Whenwecanreliablyattribute
tostate-backedactivity—eitherdomes-
ticorforeign-led—wedisclosethemto
thepublic,”a companyspokesperson
saidinanemail.
Sourcesofdisinformationcanbe
hardtopindownbecauseregularsocial
mediauserswilloftenpassonnon-
sensewithoutdirectionfromforeign
governments,saysCamilleFrançois,
chiefinnovationofficerat Graphika
Inc.,a consultancythatspecializesin
thespreadofinformationonline.For
thatreason,sheandotherexpertsin
thefieldworrythatattributingconspir-
acytheoriestoforeignactorswithout
sufficientevidencecanbecounterpro-
ductive.“Disinformationaboutdisin-
formationcanbeanissue,”shesays,
notingthathercommentsapplytothe
industrygenerally.
GabriellesayssomeoftheGEC’sevi-
dencecan’tbesharedbecauseit con-
tainsclassifiedmaterialorbecauseof
otherlegalrestrictions.Butshesays
herofficehasa uniqueviewintofor-
eigninfluencecampaigns—becauseit
isa clearinghouseforresearchfrom
other parts of the federal govern-
ment, including intelligence agen-
cies, presumably—andconducts its
ownanalysis of social media activity
andmessagesemanatingfromstate-
sponsoredmedia.
LatelastyeartheGECassigneda
staffmembertocoordinatewithSilicon
Valley,andGabriellesaysshewants
to form deeper partnerships with
techcompanies.Butshealsoargues
thatthere’ssomenaturaldisconnect
betweenherofficeandfor-profitsocial
mediacompaniesthattheGECworks
with.“Mymissionis tocounterpropa-
gandaanddisinformationthatunder-
minesoursecurityandourpolicies
andthepoliciesofourpartnersand
allies,”shesays. “Thosetwo aren’t
alwayscompletelyaligned.”
Despite her background at Fox,
Gabrielledoesn’t comeacross asa
pugnaciouscablenewswarrior.She’s
carefulto thepoint ofwoodenness
ininterviews,consistentlyemphasiz-
ingtheapoliticalnatureofherwork.
WhenNewJerseyDemocraticSenator
Cory Booker askedher during her
congressionalappearancein March
whetherTrumphasbeenmakingher
jobharder,sherespondedbysaying
onlythatshefeltshehadtheadminis-
tration’ssupport.
Criticspointout thatherpublic
cautionhasn’talwaysbeenevidentin
theGEC’sactions.Lastyearit funded
a projectcalledIranDisinfothattar-
geted, among others, theNational
IranianAmericanCouncil.Thegroup’s
president,JamalAbdi,whoisa U.S.
citizen,sayshewasoverwhelmedby
aggressivemessagesonTwitterwith
thehashtag#NiacLobbiesForMullahs.
He says it’s inappropriate for the
StateDepartmentto supportoper-
ationsthattarget Americansbased
ontheirpoliticalviews. “Theman-
datetheseorganizationshaveistogo
afterforeign influence networks,” says
Abdi. “That’s a problem when groups
like mine are lied about as being ‘for-
eign agents’ because we’re an immi-
grant community.”
Gabrielle says the GEC’s contractor
conducted the attack without authori-
zation. She’s since halted the effort. On
April 24 the State Department’s inspec-
tor general released a report conclud-
ing that the GEC didn’t have necessaryCovid Disinformation Key①③⑤
②④① The Chinese Bioweapon Theory
② The Mineral Miracle Solution
③ The Bill Gates Conspiracy
④ The 5G Cell Tower Plot
⑤ The Liberators
⑥ Trump⑥safeguards in place to make sure inde-
pendent groups it works with are act-
ing appropriately. The GEC accepted
many of the conclusions, blaming the
problem on staffing shortages it says
it’s begun to address.
More funding would help, and
Congress is considering the Trump
administration’s proposal to double the
GEC’s budget. Many Democratic law-
makers have been inclined to support
the office, but some are concerned by
the Iran Disinfo episode—and by what
they see as the GEC’s unwillingness to
communicate, according to congressio-
nal staffers.
Then there’s the frustration with
Trump. Graham Brookie, who served as
a communications adviser for Obama’s
National Security Council when the GEC
was formed, says the president’s lack of
credibility on misinformation is a major
impediment. But Brookie, who runs a
research lab at the Atlantic Council, a
Washington think tank, also argues that
some version of the GEC will be crucial
as the U.S. tries to adapt to the realities
of the internet.
“Frankly, it’s the future of public
diplomacy,” he says. Failing to fully
support it now would just require
future administrations to do so. “If Joe
Biden wins in November,” says Brookie,
Democrats would be “looking at their fis-
cal calendar like, ‘Oh, I wish we hadn’t
defunded it because we were pissed at
the Trump administration.’ ” <BW> �With
Alyza Sebenius, Michael Riley, and
Kurt Wagner