NewsGuard: The United States has “unilaterally disarmed in the information wars,” dismantling key defenses against Russian, Chinese, and Iranian disinformation efforts, NewsGuard Co-CEO Gordon warns in an op-ed published in the Washington Post on Oct. 6. Crovitz argues that recent actions by the Trump administration — including the effective shutdown of the Foreign Malign Influence Center and the cancellation of cooperation agreements with European allies — leave Americans more vulnerable to manipulation by foreign adversaries. “Adversaries take advantage of U.S. unilateral disarmament on foreign propaganda by gaslighting Americans,” Crovitz writes, citing false stories advanced by state-controlled outlets and social media accounts seeking to divide the American public. From fabricated videos about U.S. pilots refusing to deliver weapons to Israel to AI-created deepfakes painting Ukraine as corrupt, Crovitz details how Russia, China, and Iran weaponize false claims to “deepen domestic division and weaken Western alliances.” To combat the threat foreign influence poses to our democracy, Crovitz calls for renewed government action and greater accountability from the social media platforms and AI models that now routinely spread the adversaries’ false claims.

“The U.S. government should restore efforts by its intelligence agencies to discover and alert Americans and our allies to false claims spread by enemies of the West. Social media platforms should disclose to their users when it’s hostile governments or their agents making propaganda claims in posts,” Crovitz writes. “AI models should disinfect themselves by relying on quality journalism, not foreign propaganda, and by refusing to spread false claims when people ask about topics in the news.” Crovitz’s article generated 162 comments in five hours. One Washington Post reader commented, “We are living in an age in which it is difficult to know what is true from what is not. Many people are too lazy to fact check; it’s easier to believe that we read in the newspapers and see on television. Worse, people have become so confused that it is easier to believe nothing. I don’t know the answer, but I do know we need to be vigilant and beware of swallowing lies without researching. This takes a lot of time, but it’s our responsibility to check.” Another commented: “It’s interesting that the article does not mention the Trump Administration’s destruction of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (Voice of America; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; et al.) Trump is the best friend in the White House our foreign adversaries have ever had.” Read the full commentary in The Washington Post.”