More Foxification of the State Department
by digby
I can see why some people would believe that a former Fox News reporter has the perfect qualifications to run a counter-disinformation department. They are, after all, experts at propaganda and lies. But still, it's just a little bit unseemly considering that the administration is in power at least partially because of a major foreign disinformation campaign to put them in power and the president's most vociferous and powerful domestic supporters are on Fox News:
A former Fox News reporter is expected to be appointed to lead the State Department agency in charge of efforts to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation, two officials told CNN.
Lea Gabrielle is expected to be officially named the special envoy and coordinator of the Global Engagement Center as soon as Thursday, the official said.
CNN reported in September that Gabrielle was a top contender for the job. The State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment, and Gabrielle could not be immediately reached for comment.
Gabrielle was a general assignment reporter for "Shepard Smith Reporting," according to her Fox News biography, and was previously a military reporter. A friend of Gabrielle's told CNN in September that she was leaving Fox News and moving to Washington, DC.
Gabrielle is a United States Naval Academy graduate and served in the US Navy as fighter pilot for more than a decade, as well as taking part in some intelligence operations. She has said that her time in the Navy made her a better reporter. "I know how important it is that those who wear combat boots have their voices heard and their perspectives understood in news reporting," Gabrielle said during a 2016 interview with fightersweep.com. "My goal as I report on military topics is always to honor them ... by getting it right."
In 2018, she criticized Trump on air over his plans for a military parade in Washington, calling the idea "completely unnecessary."
The GEC was established in April 2016, and its mission includes "countering the adverse effects of state-sponsored propaganda and disinformation." It has taken on increasing importance as experts warn of the potential for massive disinformation campaigns heading into the midterm elections.
It's a joke. She's a very accomplished person but being a fighter pilot and a Fox News reporter is not the right experience for any job of this kind.
But then they wouldn't want that department to actually function, would they? They need the help and they seem very sure they are going to get it.
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