Avril Haines, director of national intelligence and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, said a new organization within her office oversees the intelligence community’s efforts to counter threats posed by foreign actors seeking to influence the U.S. government, The Intercept reported Friday.
Established in September 2022, the Foreign Malign Influence Center is charged with countering foreign disinformation that compromises U.S. election security and might sway the general public’s opinion.
The office uses all elements of the intelligence community, including departments and agencies with diplomatic and law enforcement functions, to combat disinformation campaigns.
“It encompasses our election threat work, essentially looking at foreign influence and interference in elections, but it also deals with disinformation more generally,” Haines told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Haines added that the FMIC is also analyzing intelligence from other foreign adversaries besides Russia to help inform interagency efforts against foreign malign influence.
“What we have been doing is effectively trying to support the Global Engagement Center and others throughout the U.S. government in helping them to understand what are the plans and intentions of the key actors in this space: China, Russia, Iran, etc.,” Haines said.