Securing Democracy Dispatch

Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week:

• Halt of Russian Natural Gas in Europe: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Maria Zakharova declared that responsibility for halting Russian gas supply through Ukraine “lies entirely within the United States, the Kyiv regime, and the EU authorities”. Russian news agency TASS painted a grim picture for Europe, arguing that due to cold weather gas storage facilities are depleting “at a record pace” and that gas prices have reached their highest level since October 2023. Pro-Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyev cited Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who threatened to reduce assistance to Ukrainian refugees in response to Ukraine’s decision to stop the flow of Russian gas. RT Deutsch highlighted Fico’s conclusion that only the United States benefits from Ukraine’s decision, while Solovyev implied that the United States, another large supplier of natural gas, might exploit the situation to increase its gas exports to Europe.
• De-dollarization: Russian state media celebrated the global push towards de-dollarization, the process of reducing reliance on the US dollar as a reserve currency, medium of exchange, or as a unit of account. According to RIA Novosti and Sputnik, the number of countries engaging in de-dollarization exceeded the number of countries relying on the US dollar. Russian state news agency Prime reported that 53 countries now openly oppose the US dollar, while another 46 are switching to national currencies in international transactions or restricting the circulation of the US dollar in domestic markets. Sputnik amplified comments from Paul Craig Roberts, US economist and Russian state media regular, who suggested that it was time to end “dollar hegemony” and that the United States had “weaponized the dollar for geopolitical leverage”.

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: 

• Trump’s Return: Last week, PRC messaging covered US President-elect Donald Trump’s “unique and bold ideas”. CGTN branches in the Americas, Africa, and Europe relayed his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Xinhua shared Trump’s refusal to rule out military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland. CGTN Europe amplified Donald Trump Jr.’s visit to Greenland on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. PRC state media also covered US allies’ rebuttals, such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian Liberal Party’s dismissal of Trump’s rhetoric, as well as France and Panama’s defense of these territories’ sovereign borders. In spite of it all, PRC consulates in New York and San Francisco relayed an interview in which American professor Graham Allison claimed that the United States and China could still avoid war.
• Biden’s Departure: PRC state media highlighted controversial decisions taken in the final days of the Biden administration, with Xinhua, China Daily, CGTN, and People’s Daily all broadcasting news about the blocked acquisition of a US steel company by Japanese Nippon Steel. Xinhua relayed Nippon Steel’s CEO’s opinion that the decision was “politically motivated”, while the Global Times portrayed visits by US officials to the Indo-Pacific region as a forlorn attempt to salvage US alliances. The head of China Daily in Europe went after Biden’s broader record, accusing the United States of sabotaging EU-PRC relations and neglecting “people in need”, and amplifying Elon Musk’s anti-George Soros post after Biden awarded him the Medal of Freedom.

US sanctions hit Iranian, Russian entities for attempting to influence voters in 2024 US election: The United States sanctioned a subsidiary of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard for overseeing an influence campaign targeting American voters “designed to incite socio-political tensions” and an entity affiliated with Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) for managing the creation and dissemination of deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence about US candidates. Co-Managing Director David Salvo said, “The recent sanctions against Iranian and Russian entities demonstrate why the Trump administration must continue to prioritize countering foreign interference operations against the United States. That would include keeping the Foreign Malign Influence Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence intact and using the Departments of Justice and Treasury to raise the costs on US adversaries. Separately, if the administration seeks to gain leverage against both countries in possible negotiations about unrelated issues, sanctioning entities engaged in interference operations could strengthen the US hand.”

Meta to replace fact-checking program with ‘community notes’ model: On Tuesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will end its third-party fact-checking program in the United States in favor of a “community notes” model similar to that used on X and will uplift restrictions for content on some topics previously restricted as “political”, including immigration and gender identity. Senior Manager and Fellow for Europe Vassilis Ntousas said, “This abrupt announcement could widen the transatlantic divide over how best to protect speech online. Much of what has been announced will primarily apply to the United States and seems tailored to a domestic audience, but severing support for fact-checking contrasts with the European regulatory consensus on digital services. The EU framework places greater emphasis on identifying and safeguarding against false information and hate speech. This decision’s direct impact may not yet affect Europe, but its repercussions will be felt across the continent. The EU’s response so far has been notably restrained, but Europeans are already grappling with a difficult dilemma: how to address this issue and whether to include it on the growing list of policy divergences to address with the incoming US administration.”

US government center dedicated to countering foreign information campaigns shuts down: The Global Engagement Center (GEC), a US Department of State body dedicated to leading interagency work to counter foreign information campaigns and propaganda around the world, shut down in December after Congress failed to pass a measure that would have secured funding for the center into 2031. Senior Fellow Bret Schafer told the Dispatch, “Whatever the flaws with the GEC—and there were some—its purpose remains as relevant today as when it was established, as evidenced by Russian state media’s celebratory coverage of the center’s demise. Hopefully, a Marco Rubio-led State Department can find a way to reconstitute the GEC in a way that appeases its critics, refocuses its mission, and continues the fight against our adversaries, who are undoubtedly glad to see a weakening of our collective defenses.”

In Case You Missed It

• Only the US Treasury Department was impacted by a recently announced PRC-linked hacking campaign that allowed hackers to access the department’s office dedicated to enforcing US sanctions, according to US officials.
• Approximately two thirds of Americans have become reluctant to consume political news—but not news about conflicts abroad and the economy—according to a new poll.
• The United States will roll out a labeling system for several internet-connected devices that meet a benchmark cybersecurity standard, including fitness trackers and baby monitors.
• The top US cyber official encouraged the incoming administration to continue to encourage federal agencies to set cyber priorities within their annual budget requests.

Meta announces major changes in fact checking and content moderation. Senior Fellow Bret Schafer interviewed on NBC News

Effective fact-checking with AI: StopFake’s recommendations. ASD research/ “Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard” cited in StopFake

Intelligenza artificiale: disinformazione e tutela (Artificial intelligence: disinformation and protection). ASD research cited in Filodiritto

“We know that democracy is always an unfinished creation. Each generation must renew its foundations. Each generation must rediscover the meaning of this hallowed vision in the light of its own modern challenges.”

—Former US President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on December 29, 2024, during his presidential Farewell Address in January 1981.

The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the author alone.