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Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday denied in court that his company bought rival services Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize them, as his testimony in a landmark antitrust case came to a close.The case could see the Facebook owner forced to divest itself of the two apps, which have grown into global powerhouses since their buyouts.During his third and final day on the stand in a federal courtroom in Washington, Zuckerberg took aim at the Federal Trade Commission’s main argument — that Facebook, since renamed Meta, devoured what it saw as competitive threats.The co-founder of Facebook responded “No” when asked by Meta attorney Mark Hansen if his intent was to eliminate rivals with the purchases of photo sharing app Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp.He explained that Instagram, purchased in 2012, was attractive for “its camera and photo sharing experience” but added that he “didn’t view it as a broad network really competitive with where we were.”As for WhatsApp, bought two years later, Zuckerberg testified that he saw the app as technically impressive but its founders as “unambitious” in terms of “maximizing the impact that they could potentially have.””I basically ended up pushing to add things,” he told the court.Zuckerberg testified that Facebook put its scale and resources to work building Instagram and WhatsApp into apps now used by billions of people.Former Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg testified after Zuckerberg, echoing much of what he told the court.Meta has had to take on an array of rivals including internet colossus Google as internet competition has become increasingly competitive, according to Sandberg.”Every time you go on your computer or phone, you have a choice of what you spend your time on,” Sandberg said.”That’s what all these producers are competing for: your time and attention.”- TikTok as new threat -A key part of the courtroom battle is how the Federal Trade Commission convincingly defines Meta’s market for the judge.The US government argues that Facebook and Instagram are dominant players in apps that provide a way to connect with family and friends, a category that does not include TikTok and YouTube.Meta’s defense attorneys counter that substantial investments transformed these acquisitions into the blockbusters they are today. They also highlight that Meta’s apps are free for users and face fierce competition.The case was originally filed in December 2020, in the last days of President Donald Trump’s first administration.Zuckerberg, the world’s third-richest person, has made repeated visits to the White House as he has tried to persuade the president to choose settlement instead of fighting the trial.As part of his lobbying efforts, Zuckerberg contributed to Trump’s inauguration fund and overhauled content moderation policies. He also purchased a $23 million mansion in Washington in what was seen as a bid to spend more time close to the center of political power.Zuckerberg wrapped some 12 hours of testimony on Wednesday with an assessment of TikTok, which he said has emerged as perhaps the biggest competitive threat for Instagram and Facebook.Meta has seen the growth of its apps slow as the China-based video-snippet sharing sensation has boomed, so the US tech titan added a TikTok-like Reels feature to fire back in the marketplace, according to Zuckerberg.”That said, TikTok is still bigger than either Facebook or Instagram, and I don’t like it when our competitors do better than us,” he told the court.And as video has evolved into a favorite form of online media, particularly on smartphones, YouTube has become serious competition for Meta, the chief executive testified.

A US judge said Wednesday he had found “probable cause” to hold President Donald Trump’s administration in contempt in a deportation case, raising the stakes in the White House’s confrontation with the justice system.The White House said it planned an “immediate” appeal to the decision by District Judge James Boasberg, who had ordered the government to halt flights of more than 200 alleged gang Venezuelan members to El Salvador.Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order on March 15 to halt the deportations, which were carried out under an obscure wartime law, the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which strips away the usual legal due process.In a written opinion, the judge cited evidence that the government had engaged in “deliberate or reckless disregard” of his order when it proceeded with the flights.”Defendants provide no convincing reason to avoid the conclusion that appears obvious… that they deliberately flouted this Court’s written Order and, separately, its oral command that explicitly delineated what compliance entailed,” he wrote.The administration’s actions were “sufficient for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt,” Boasberg wrote.The judge said the government would be offered a final chance to “purge such contempt” or face further court action.Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has flirted with open defiance of the judiciary following setbacks to his right-wing agenda, with deportation cases taking center stage.”We plan to seek immediate appellate relief,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement after the judge’s ruling.”The President is 100 percent committed to ensuring that terrorists and criminal illegal migrants are no longer a threat to Americans and their communities across the country.”- ‘Administrative error’ -In invoking the Alien Enemies Act — which had only been used previously during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II — Trump said he was targeting transnational gangs he had declared foreign terrorist organizations.That included the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua, but lawyers for several of the deported Venezuelans have said that their clients were not gang members, had committed no crimes and were targeted largely on the basis of their tattoos.Trump has routinely criticized rulings that curb his policies and power, and attacked the judges who issued them, including Boasberg.The Republican president said Wednesday that US courts are “totally out of control,” writing on his Truth Social platform: “They seem to hate ‘TRUMP’ so much, that anything goes!”His administration is also under fire over its admission that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was living in the eastern state of Maryland and married to a US citizen, was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador due to an “administrative error.”A judge has ordered Trump to “facilitate” his return, an order upheld by the Supreme Court, but his government has said the court did not have the authority to order it to have him returned.Trump has alleged that Abrego Garcia is “an MS-13 Gang Member and Foreign Terrorist from El Salvador,” while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that he was “engaged in human trafficking.” The man has never been charged with any crimes.

A Democratic senator said Wednesday that El Salvador had denied his request to release a US resident whose wrongful deportation triggered a political firestorm over President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policies.Chris Van Hollen said he had also been refused a visit or phone call with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is imprisoned in his native country despite a US federal judge’s order, backed by the Supreme Court, for his return to the United States.The White House condemned Van Hollen’s trip to the Central American country and invited the mother of a woman killed by another migrant from El Salvador — but in an unrelated case —  to speak as a “special guest” at a hastily arranged news briefing.Van Hollen said he had asked Vice President Felix Ulloa when they met why Abrego Garcia was still locked up in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) if he had committed no crime and El Salvador had no evidence that he was a member of street gang MS-13.”His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT,” Van Hollen, who represents Abrego Garcia’s home state of Maryland, told reporters during a visit to the Central American nation.The Trump administration has paid President Nayib Bukele’s administration several million dollars to keep deportees in detention.”I’m asking President Bukele… to do the right thing and allow Mr Abrego Garcia to walk out of prison, a man who’s charged with no crime, convicted of no crime, and who was illegally abducted from the United States,” Van Hollen said.A legal US resident, Abrego Garcia was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.The Trump administration has admitted an “administrative error” and has been ordered by the Supreme Court to “facilitate” the 29-year-old father’s return.But the White House — pressed on what action it was taking to remedy its error in lower court hearings — has not announced any efforts toward Abrego Garcia’s return.Bukele said during a White House visit on Monday he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. – ‘Protecting our children’ -The Trump administration has mounted an increasingly aggressive pushback, accusing Abrego Garcia of gang links and domestic violence without providing any conclusive evidence.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday brought out Patty Morin of Maryland — whose daughter Rachel was beaten, raped and strangled in an unrelated 2023 case in which the Salvadoran murderer had been deported three times — to speak at a briefing.”This is about protecting our children. It’s more than just politics or votes or just anything,” Morin told journalists. Leavitt slammed the “appalling and sad” visit by the Democratic senator and accused him and the media of prioritizing Abrego Garcia’s case over that of Rachel Morin’s.US Attorney General Pam Bondi meanwhile released what she called “additional information” including a police report that said his Chicago Bulls baseball cap indicated he was an MS-13 member.He denies gang membership and has never been charged with crimes in either country.But Trump’s critics have warned that his defiance of the courts has placed the country on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.”It’s a short road from there to tyranny,” Van Hollen said earlier.The issue has become a growing policial football.West Virginia Republican congressman Riley Moore posted on X Tuesday that he had also traveled to El Salvador to see the prison where immigrants deported by the Trump administration are being held.He declared himself supportive of Trump’s actions, however.Another Democratic senator, Cory Booker, and two Democratic members of the House of Representatives are also mulling a trip to the country.burs-dk/tgb

Concern over the economic fallout from US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs mounted Wednesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s warning of higher inflation sending stock markets tumbling.Trump remained upbeat, posting on social media that there’d been “Big Progress!” in talks with Japan on a trade deal.He is banking that his strategy, in which tariffs are meant to lead to multiple individual country agreements, will lower barriers to US products and shift global manufacturing to the United States.But those negotiations are running parallel to a deepening confrontation with top US economic rival China — and concern over widespread disruption.Powell said tariffs are “highly likely” to provoke a temporary rise in prices and could prompt “more persistent” increases.He also noted the “volatility” on the markets in a “time of high uncertainty.”That volatility was visible on Wall Street where the Nasdaq at one point plummeted more than four percent, the S&P more than three percent and the Dow Jones more than two.Leading the downward charge was Nvidia, which momentarily dropped more than 10 percent after disclosing major costs due to new US export restrictions on semiconductors imposed as part of Trump’s tussle with China.World Bank chief Ajay Banga echoed Powell, telling reporters that, “uncertainty and volatility are undoubtedly contributing to a more cautious economic and business environment.”- China says ‘no winner’ -While the rest of the world has been slapped with a blanket 10 percent tariff, China faces levies of up to 145 percent on many products. Beijing has responded with duties of 125 percent on US goods.”If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.”There is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war,” Lin said, adding: “China does not want to fight, but it is not afraid to fight.”China said on Wednesday that it saw a forecast-beating 5.4 percent jump in growth in the first quarter as exporters rushed to get goods out of factory gates ahead of the US levies.But Heron Lim from Moody’s Analytics told AFP the impact would be felt in the second quarter, as tariffs begin “impeding Chinese exports and slamming the brakes on investment.”World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the uncertainty brought by the tariffs “threatens to act as a brake on global growth, with severe negative consequences for the world, the most vulnerable economies in particular.”- Japan test case? -Ahead of the Japan talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he hoped “something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”Japan’s envoy said he was optimistic of a “win-win” outcome for both countries.South Korea, a major semiconductor and auto exporter, said Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok would meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week.”The current priority is to use negotiations… to delay the imposition of reciprocal tariffs as much as possible and to minimize uncertainty for Korean companies operating not only in the US but also in global markets,” Choi said on Tuesday.But Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management called the discussions with Japan the “canary in the tariff coal mine.””If Japan secures a deal — even a half-baked one — the template is set. If they walk away empty-handed, brace yourself. Other nations will start pricing in confrontation, not cooperation,” he wrote in a newsletter.The Daiwa Institute of Research warned on Wednesday that Trump’s reciprocal tariffs could cause a decline of 1.8 percent in Japan’s real GDP by 2029.Although popular among Republicans, the tariffs war is politically risky for Trump at home. California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom announced he was launching a new court challenge against Trump’s “authority to unilaterally enact tariffs, which have created economic chaos, driven up prices, and harmed the state, families, and businesses.”burs-sms/dw

California is suing the federal government over Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs, the governor and attorney general said Wednesday, claiming the American president does not have the right to impose them.The move marks the strongest pushback yet against a tariff roll-out that has sent global stock markets into meltdown, and left businesses across the US fretting about uncertainty.”It’s the worst own-goal in the history of this country,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said. “One of the most self-destructive things that we’ve experienced in modern American history.”With 40 million people and a large, outward-facing economy that accounts for 14 percent of US GDP, California looks set to bear the brunt of the economic damage forecasters expect from recent gyrations.Newsom’s office says California — which would be the world’s fifth-largest economy if it were an independent country — could lose billions of dollars in revenue if Trump’s tariff policies shrink international trade.Trump has long prized tariffs as a tool to achieve what he says is the urgent need to rebalance America’s trading relationships, and pledged on the campaign trail that he would hit imports with extra levies.Initial punitive tariffs against Mexico and Canada were built on with his self-declared “Liberation Day,” which saw onerous charges imposed on scores of countries, including allies and partners.Many of those duties have since been paused, but their chaotic announcement sent global stock markets into spasms, wiping out trillions of dollars of value.Newsom said Trump’s economic mismanagement was costing everyday Americans — including many who voted for Trump — dearly, all while feathering the nests of billionaire donors and friends.The United States, he said, has gone in a matter of weeks “from free capitalism to crony capitalism, just like that.””This is the personification of corruption…this is smash-mouth, in-your-face, every minute of every day, every hour.”How in the hell are we sitting by and allowing this to happen?” said Newsom, who is widely expected to put himself forward as a candidate for the presidency in 2028.The legal action launched Wednesday argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has used to impose levies as high as 145 percent, does not grant him the authority to impose tariffs on goods coming into the United States.”We’re asking the court to rein in the president…and uphold the Constitution,” Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters.”The president is yet again acting as if he’s above the law, he isn’t.”Bonta said the power to impose tariffs rests with Congress, and the suit sought to ensure his actions were rolled back.”It’s simple, Trump does not have the authority to impose these tariffs. He must be stopped.”The case is the latest of more than a dozen lawsuits that California has filed against the Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will likely push up prices and constrain growth, and could put the Federal Reserve in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment, the central bank’s chair said Wednesday.US financial markets fell following Jerome Powell’s remarks, with all three major Wall Street indices ending the day in the red as investors dumped tech stocks. “Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation,” Powell told the Economic Club of Chicago, warning that the inflationary effects “could also be more persistent.””Avoiding that outcome will depend on the size of the effects, on how long it takes for them to pass through fully to prices, and, ultimately, on keeping longer-term inflation expectations well anchored,” he added, echoing similar remarks earlier this month. Unlike some other central banks, the US Fed has a dual mandate from Congress to ensure both stable prices and maximum sustainable employment over time.It keeps those twin objectives in balance by lowering or raising interest rates, which act as either a throttle or a brake for demand in the world’s largest economy.Powell said that while the Fed’s employment and inflation goals were largely in balance, policymakers could find themselves in the “challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension.”- ‘Continued volatility’ -Trump’s stop-start tariff policy has unnerved investors and trading partners unsure about the long-term strategy, and what it might mean for international trade. Amid the rollout of the tariffs, global financial markets spiraled, pushing volatility to heights not seen since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.  “You’ll probably see continued volatility,” Powell said Wednesday. “But I wouldn’t try to be definitive about exactly what’s causing that.””I would just say markets are orderly and they’re functioning kind of as you would expect them to in this time of high uncertainty,” he added. Most economists have warned that tariffs will push up prices — at least temporarily — while acting as a drag on growth.The Trump administration has insisted that the levies are just one part of an overall economic agenda including tax cuts and deregulation designed to stimulate supply, boost growth, temper inflation, and return manufacturing jobs to the United States.Tariffs would be “likely to move us away from our goals,” Powell said, referring to the Fed’s dual mandate.Futures traders currently see a roughly 85 percent chance that the Fed will vote to pause again at the next interest rate decision in May, according to data from CME Group. 

Comedian Nate Bargatze, one of the United States’ most successful stand-ups, will host this year’s Emmy Awards, organizers said Wednesday.The funnyman is being handed the reins of television’s most prestigious prize show for its 77th edition, which takes place in Los Angeles in September and will be broadcast on US network CBS.”It’s a huge honor to be asked to host such an iconic awards show and I’m beyond excited to work with CBS to create a night that can be enjoyed by families around the world,” Bargatze said in a statement.Last year’s show was hosted by the well-received father-and-son pairing of Eugene and Dan Levy, for an evening that saw a boost in viewing figures compared with previous editions.The Television Academy, which hands out the prizes, will be hoping that Bargatze’s growing popularity and everyman persona will add to the show’s appeal.”Nate is one of the hottest comics in the business with a remarkable and hilarious brand of comedy that deeply resonates with multi-generational audiences around the globe,” Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego said.”We are thrilled to be able to leverage his one-of-a-kind perspective to entertain TV fans watching this year’s Emmy telecast.”Bargatze is on something of a career roll, playing to sell-out audiences in the United States and seeing success around the world through his Netflix specials.His six stand-up specials have included “The Greatest Average American,” which earned him a Grammy nomination for best comedy album.

A Democratic senator arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday to press for the release of a US resident thrust to the center of a storm over President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policies when he was mistakenly deported to the Central American country.Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned in a notorious jail in his native country despite a US federal judge’s order, backed by the Supreme Court, for his return to the United States.US Senator Chris Van Hollen said after landing in San Salvador that he hoped to meet with high-level government officials and possibly Abrego Garcia, who he said had been “illegally abducted” and wrongly deported.”I told his wife and his family I would do everything possible to bring him home, and we’re going to keep working at this until we’re successful,” Van Hollen, who represents Maryland, Abrego Garcia’s home state, said in a video.Van Hollen said before taking off that he wanted to show the Trump administration and El Salvador that Abrego Garcia’s supporters would not let up in the campaign for his return.A legal US resident, Abrego Garcia was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.The Trump administration has admitted its mistake, and has been ordered by the Supreme Court to “facilitate” the 29-year-old’s return.But the administration — pressed on what action it was taking to remedy its error in lower court hearings — has not announced any efforts toward Abrego Garcia’s return.El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said during a White House visit on Monday he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the United States.Trump told reporters he did not have the authority to intervene, leaving the man in limbo.- ‘Picking on most vulnerable’ -Trump’s critics have warned that his defiance of the courts has placed the country on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.”This is about due process. This is about rule of law,” Van Hollen said.”What bullies do is they begin by picking on the most vulnerable. But if we get rid of the rule of law and due process in the United States, it’s a short road from there to tyranny.”The White House claims that it is complying with the courts and says, without providing evidence, that Abrego Garcia is a gang member. He denies the accusation and has never been charged of crimes in either country.District Judge Paula Xinis said the case against him amounted to “nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant” of his gang membership.West Virginia Republican congresswoman Riley Moore posted on X Tuesday that he had also traveled to El Salvador to see the prison where immigrants deported by the Trump administration are being held.He declared himself supportive of Trump’s actions, however.Another Democratic senator, Cory Booker, was also mulling a trip to the country but has not yet made an announcement on timing.Two Democrats in the House of Representatives — Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida and Robert Garcia of California — were also reportedly planning to visit.

US President Donald Trump touted tariff negotiations with Japan on Wednesday while China angrily accused Washington of “blackmail” in a trade war that the WTO warns will have “severe” economic consequences for the global economy.Trump remained upbeat about his strategy of imposing global tariffs, then negotiating individual trade agreements, with the goal of lowering barriers to US products and forcing more manufacturing to be based in the United States.He said he would meet a Japanese delegation Wednesday both on tariffs and another of his longtime complaints — the cost of the US military deployments to defend the crucial Pacific ally.”Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS.’ I will attend the meeting,” Trump posted on his Truth Social app.The multiple negotiations the Trump administration says are underway are running parallel to a full trade war against top US economic rival China.While the rest of the world has been slapped with a blanket 10 percent tariff, China faces levies of up to 145 percent on many products. Beijing has responded with duties of 125 percent on US goods.There is little sign of rapprochement, with the White House insisting that China make the first move.”If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.”There is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war,” Lin said, adding: “China does not want to fight, but it is not afraid to fight.”Beijing’s commerce ministry noted that taking into account previous tariffs and the new ones, certain Chinese products now cumulatively face 245 percent duties to enter the US market.While concern is growing that the US economy could be rocked by the trade war, China said on Wednesday that it saw a forecast-beating 5.4 percent in the first quarter as exporters rushed to get goods out of factory gates ahead of the US levies.Heron Lim from Moody’s Analytics told AFP the impact would be felt in the second quarter, as tariffs begin “impeding Chinese exports and slamming the brakes on investment.”World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the uncertainty brought by the tariffs “threatens to act as a brake on global growth, with severe negative consequences for the world, the most vulnerable economies in particular.”- Japan test case? -Trump posted that he hoped “something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”And Japan’s envoy said he was optimistic of a “win-win” outcome for both countries.South Korea, a major semiconductors and auto exporter, said Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok would meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week.”The current priority is to use negotiations… to delay the imposition of reciprocal tariffs as much as possible and to minimize uncertainty for Korean companies operating not only in the US but also in global markets,” Choi said on Tuesday.Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management called the discussions with Japan in particular the “canary in the tariff coal mine.””If Japan secures a deal — even a half-baked one — the template is set. If they walk away empty-handed, brace yourself. Other nations will start pricing in confrontation, not cooperation,” he wrote in a newsletter.The Daiwa Institute of Research warned on Wednesday that Trump’s reciprocal tariffs could cause a decline of 1.8 percent in Japan’s real GDP by 2029.Chip stocks across Asia slumped after Nvidia said it expected a $5.5 billion hit due to a new US licensing requirement on the primary chip it can legally sell in China.Trump also ordered a probe on Tuesday that may result in tariffs on critical minerals, rare-earth metals and associated products such as smartphones.Although popular among Republicans, the tariffs war is politically risky for Trump at home. California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom announced he was launching a new court challenge against Trump’s “authority to unilaterally enact tariffs, which have created economic chaos, driven up prices, and harmed the state, families, and businesses.”burs-sms/aha

The United States on Wednesday eliminated a key government agency that tracked foreign disinformation, framing the move as an effort to preserve “free speech.”The closure of the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference hub, previously known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), comes as leading experts monitoring propaganda have been raising the alarm about the risk of disinformation campaigns from US adversaries such as Russia and China.In December, just weeks ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the US Congress failed to extend the agency’s funding following years of Republican allegations that it censored conservative views.In a statement on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the closure of the unit, saying it was the responsibility of government officials to “preserve and protect the freedom for Americans to exercise their free speech.””Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” Rubio said. “That ends today.”The announcement comes at a time when the State Department is expected to propose an unprecedented dismantling of Washington’s diplomatic reach, shuttering programs and embassies worldwide to slash the budget by almost 50 percent, according to US media.The GEC, established in 2016, had long faced scrutiny from Republican lawmakers, who accused it of censoring and surveilling Americans. Its closing leaves the State Department without a dedicated office for tracking and countering disinformation from US rivals for the first time in over eight years.The unit has also come under fire from billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk, who accused the GEC in 2023 of being the “worst offender in US government censorship (and) media manipulation” and called the agency a “threat to our democracy.”Musk has overseen the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with radically reducing government spending.The GEC’s former leaders have pushed back on those views, calling their work crucial to combating foreign propaganda campaigns.Last June, James Rubin, special envoy and coordinator for the GEC at the time, announced the launch of a multinational group based in Warsaw to counter Russian disinformation on the war in neighboring Ukraine.The State Department had said that the initiative, known as the Ukraine Communications Group, would bring together partner governments to coordinate messaging, promote accurate reporting of the war and expose Kremlin information manipulation.In a previous report, the GEC also warned that China was spending billions of dollars globally to spread disinformation and threatening to cause a “sharp contraction” in freedom of speech around the world.