The new Foreign Malign Influence Center will address "foreign threats to elections" as well as the "public opinion" within the country, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines revealed in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday.

Since the first attempt at a ministry of truth didn't pan out, as the public quickly figured out what was going on, this is the next try. And with the upcoming (s)elections, the timing of this should not surprise anyone.

Operating under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FMIC has access to "all intelligence possessed or created pertaining to foreign malign information, including election security." Its director, Jeffrey Wichman, was formerly chief of analysis for the CIA's Counterintelligence Mission Center.

For the agency's purposes, 'foreign' means originating in Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, or "any other foreign country that the Director of the Center" deems appropriate, while 'foreign malign influence' is defined as "any hostile effort undertaken by, or at the direction of, or on behalf of or with the substantial support of," one of the named countries in order to influence, covertly or overtly, US government or state policy or the "public opinion within the United States." –RT

The FMIC was apparently founded in September of last year, but because of recent legislation Thursday's hearing was the first public mention of its existence. Its establishment was obviously controversial, as some senators and intelligence officers questioned the need for another agency with the same remit as the Global Engagement Center, the State Department subsidiary tasked with disseminating American propaganda to fight the foreign variety.