Pentagon Designates Confucius Institutes a National Security Threat, Hegseth Says 80 'Propaganda Cells' Resurfaced at 30 Universities

The Department of Defense has designated Confucius Institutes, the Chinese-funded cultural centers that have operated on American college campuses, as a threat to U.S. national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday in a video posted on social media, according to Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse.

"We added these sleeper organizations to our list of institutions that threaten our national security," Hegseth said in the video, according to AFP.

What Hegseth Said About Confucius Institutes

Hegseth said the programs had reappeared in disguised forms after Congress restricted them. "It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students," he said.

Over the past two months, the Pentagon has "systematically dismantled every single one of these organisations," Hegseth said, according to Al Jazeera. He did not name the 30 universities in the remarks quoted by either outlet.

Why Washington Has Targeted the Centers

Washington has long accused the centers of serving as propaganda tools of the Chinese Communist Party and has taken steps to shut them down, according to AFP. Al Jazeera reported that Hegseth framed the designation as a response to Chinese government-backed cultural programs that he said had infiltrated universities and returned under new names despite congressional restrictions.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not answer a Reuters request for comment, Al Jazeera reported.

Image: The Pentagon (file photo), DoD photo by Master Sgt. Ken Hammond, U.S. Air Force, public domain.

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Sources: Al Jazeera, "Pentagon designates Confucius Institutes a national security threat" (Oct. 24, 2026): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/24/pentagon-designates-confucius-institutes-a-national-security-threat ; AFP via Taipei Times, "China-funded Confucius Institutes deemed US national security threat: Hegseth" (Oct. 25, 2026): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2026/10/25/2003866568