US: 80 "propaganda cells" in universities disbanded; Confucius Institutes deemed national security threat

The US Department of War has dismantled 80 "propaganda cells" operating under new names at 30 universities and designated Confucius Institutes, Chinese-funded cultural centres on university campuses, as a threat to US national security.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced his decision on 23/10/2026, adding that Confucius Institutes had operated in disguise after being restricted by Congress and calling them “sleeper organisations”. He also called them "Chinese propaganda-backed cultural programmes" that had "infiltrated our nation's universities in almost every state".

Hegseth said that Congress "thankfully banned them a few years ago", but Congress never issued a nationwide ban on Confucius Institutes. Instead, it repeatedly used federal funding restrictions to disincentivise…