30 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL We are addicted to its flattery, speed, and accessibility, while we overlook its slow-acting poisons and crafty traps. Just as the problem of disinformation lies glowing in front of our faces, so does the solution. Besides periodic election monitoring, to protect our democracy we also need to make information-monitoring a 24/7 priority. We should train every information consumer to rely on nonpartisan reliable sources and to distinguish data-driven facts from biased opinion. We should measure information once, and count twice, doublechecking with a search engine or second source when we have any doubts. We should learn disinformers’ rhetorical techniques (e.g., exaggeration, conspiracy hints, urgency) and flag such messages for extra verification efforts (you may find the latter works well on most political advertising, too). I do not believe that we should bring back the GEC in the same structure in the future. That model had its strengths (one leader called it “a five-year-old start-up company inside a 235-year-old bureaucracy”). But at the same time, it did not integrate across the State Department and the interagency as well as it could have, nor did it win every battle to expose its findings to wider audiences. Yet, as long as we face ongoing threats from authoritarian states and violent extremist organizations to undermine democracy around the world, I believe that we need a reformed GEC to fight back, one that brings together all interested parties in a transparent effort to fight foreign information manipulation and interference. Trolls are very good at hiding and skilled at regeneration. They can only be defeated through vigilant detection, strength of resolve, and international collaboration—virtues that also work very well in other ways as we strive to protect our democracy. n Social media’s growth soon expanded the reach of malign influence.
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