Foreign Malign Influence Center

Foreign Malign Influence Center

Agency overview
Formed	September 23, 2022
Jurisdiction	United States
Parent department	Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Website	https://www.dni.gov/index.php/fmic-home

The Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC) is the U.S. organization for integrating intelligence in foreign malign influence (FMI), ^[1] which can be defined as foreign actors using subversive and/or coercive disinformation to influence how people in public discussion the United States think, act, and make decision by means of the targeting of individuals or group in the United States to cause harm. ^[2] Its earlier name was the Foreign Malign Influence Response Center (FMIRC). ^[3]

It is one of five mission centers within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). It works the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) to mitigate threats to U.S. democracy and U.S. national interests. The FMIC houses the Election Threats Executive (ETE), which coordinates with the IC on all election security activities, initiatives, and programs. ^[4] It is based at the Intelligence Community Campus-Bethesda, Bethesda, Maryland. ^[5]

Prior to FMIC and at one point co-existing with FMIC, the Global Engagement Center (GEC) of the U.S. State Department tracked foreign disinformation from 2016 to December 23, 2024. ^[6]

History

In concern of elections being influenced by disinformation, especially by means of artificial intelligence, Congress established the FMIC within the ODNI by amending the National Security Act of 1947 (P.L. 80-253) under Section 5322 of the Intelligence Authorization Act. It was codified Title 50 U.S. Code, Sections 3058-3059. ^[7] It was enacted on December 20, 2019, and activated by the DNI on September 23, 2022. ^[8]

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. on March 8, 2023, stated that: ^[3]

Congress put into law that we should establish a Foreign Malign Influence Center in the intelligence community; we have stood that up. It encompasses our election threat work, essentially looking at foreign influence and interference in elections, but it also deals with disinformation more generally.

Notifications

For notification to public about foreign malign influence, the following process takes place at FMIC: ^[8]

• A panel of representatives of intelligence agencies called the Credibility Assessment Group (CAG) evaluate intelligence.
• Occasionally, the CAG will provide assessments as to what is called the Experts Group, for determining if a recommendation of notification about foreign malign influence is to be released the public. ^[8]

The Experts Group

The Experts Group is a group of senior representatives of the following departments: ^[8]

• U.S. Department of Defense
• U.S. Department of State
• U.S. Department of Justice
• U.S. Department of the Treasury
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

FMIC definition of FMI

According to FMIC, foreign malign influence (FMI) is foreign influence that would include: ^[9]

• Subversive: Intending to undermine the United States, its political systems, and the will of the people of the United States.
• Undeclared: Intending to hide the foreign country's intent and actions (it's hand).
• Coercive: Pressures individuals of groups in the U.S. to back decisions that favor a foreign government.
• Criminal: The violation of U.S. law.

FMIC Functions

By statute, the FMIC has two functions: ^[8]

• To serve as the primary U.S. government organization for the analyzing and integrating of all intelligence that pertains to foreign malign influence.
• To provide Members of Congress and policymakers in the federal government “comprehensive assessments, and indications and warnings, of foreign malign influence.”

References

1. "Foreign Malign Influence Center". www.odni.gov. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
2. "An Introduction to Foreign Malign Influence" (PDF).
3. Klippenstein, Ken (2023-05-05). "The Government Created a New Disinformation Office to Oversee All the Other Ones". The Intercept. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
4. "Introduction". www.dni.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
5. Kirkpatrick, David D. (2024-10-21). "The U.S. Spies Who Sound the Alarm About Election Interference". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 2025-01-30.
6. "US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down". France 24. 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
7. "50 U.S. Code § 3059 - Foreign Malign Influence Center". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
8. "The Intelligence Community's Foreign Malign Influence Center".
9. "FMI Primer: An Introduction to FMI" (PDF).