Donald Trump has recommended ex-CIA officer and former Fox News reporter Lea Gabrielle to lead the Global Engagement Centre (GEC), the US agency (part of the Department of State) tasked with countering foreign disinformation attacks. The GEC was first established in April 2016 as attention focused on Russian disinformation efforts in the US Presidential election. Gabrielle has been working at Fox News since 2013. The appointment to such a sensitive post from the highly partisan Fox News organisation raised some eyebrows in Washington, especially considering Gabrielle’s lack of experience in the field of information warfare. Some suggested that this indicated how Trump does not take the disinformation threat seriously. The White House has countered this by citing Gabrielle’s previous experience, first as a fighter pilot, then as “a CIA-trained human intelligence operations officer” and then as a journalist. Gabrielle will replace Daniel Kimmage who has led the GEC for the past two years.
