Yesterday’s report that the US government was funding agencies like Politico, the Associated Press, the BBC and others raised more questions than answers in the USAID scandal.
According to Wikileaks, the government agency USAID, whose activities were revealed by Elon Musk, paid a total of 6,200 journalists, 707 media organizations and 279 NGOs in at least 30 countries around the world to propagate various issues such as LGBTQ+, or the war in Ukraine.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid – some $268 million that was intended to fund “independent” media and the free flow of information – has “thrown journalism around the world into chaos.”
Almost immediately after the freeze took effect, journalistic organizations around the world that receive US aid began writing to RSF expressing their strong displeasure over the aid cut.
The organizations affected include large international NGOs that support “independent” media outlets such as the International Fund for Public Interest Media, and smaller, individual media outlets.
USAID programs supported “independent” media in more than 30 countries, but it is difficult to assess the full extent of the damage done to the global media.
Many organizations are hesitant to draw attention for fear of jeopardizing long-term funding or facing political attacks.
According to a USAID fact sheet that has since been taken offline, in 2023, the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists, assisted 707 non-state news agencies, and supported 279 media civil society organizations engaged in strengthening independent media.
The 2025 foreign assistance budget included $268,376,000 allocated by Congress to supposedly support “independent media and the free flow of information.”
Of course, the concern of RSF and another organization, the Columbia Journalism Review, is not about the propaganda that these paid media outlets have spread, but about the alleged “silencing” of the also supposedly “independent” media outlets, by cutting off their funding.
