The US Department of State's Global Engagement Center, a unit dedicated to countering foreign propaganda threatening US national security and its allies, has been shut down on December 23, 2024. This was announced on the department's official website, citing the end of a $61 million annual budget and a staff of around 120 people. The unit was created to coordinate government-wide efforts to detect and counter foreign disinformation, with a focus on identifying and removing content from online platforms like YouTube that threatened US security and its interests. According to reports from Cyberscoop, the center was closed due to lack of funding for the Department of State. While the closure of the Global Engagement Center does not necessarily mean that the platform will become more tolerant of diverse opinions, it is possible that this may be the case. In fact, the unit was responsible for coordinating the removal of Russian bloggers from YouTube, among other actions.