The U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and State Department is offering a grant of $1.9 million dollars in the field of digital and media literacy to train government employees, media professionals, librarians, educators, and information specialists in foreign countries to counter disinformation, according to the Washington Examiner.
The award, listed on Grants.gov, the official access point for all federal grant-making agencies, will “consist primarily of regionally focused efforts, to include curriculum development, training, and content delivery to promote U.S. values and digital and media literacy skills to counter Russian and other foreign disinformation efforts in selected regions of Europe and in Central Asia, for and at up to approximately 150 American Spaces in designated priority countries,” the description reads.
“The program also includes support for global activities to bolster American Spaces programming and outreach, to include at least one training, mentoring, and cultural visit to the United States for select American Spaces staff affiliated with partner organizations, as well as social media message map development and implementation and deployment strategies.”
American Spaces are the U.S. government’s primary public cultural and information centers abroad.
The Biden administration last year launched a short-lived Disinformation Governance Board to “combat false information online.”
Republicans quickly seized on the board, which was paused after just three weeks and dismantled soon after.
Still, the Department of Homeland Security continued with plans to police disinformation stemming from concerns around Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election, with leaked documents showing it planned to target inaccurate information on “the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, racial justice, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the nature of U.S. support to Ukraine,” according to an October 2022 Intercept report.
A spokesperson for the State Department told the Washington Examiner that "disinformation" remains a "priority issue around the world," noting that the grant will "help achieve U.S. foreign policy goals."
"The U.S. Department of State grant process is administered consistent with applicable federal law and policies, including with respect to bias and preferential treatment," the spokesperson said. "The department cannot comment further on its selection process with respect to this particular request for proposals and potential awards."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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