USAID Falls, Exposing a Giant Network of US-Funded “Independent” Media
The Trump administration’s decision to pause USAID funding has plunged hundreds of so-called “independent media” outlets into crisis, thereby exposing a worldwide network of thousands of journalists, all working to promote U.S. interests in their home countries.
In late January, President Trump—along with help from the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk—began implementing sweeping changes to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on the premise that the organization’s promotion of liberal and progressive causes was a gigantic waste of money.
The group’s website and Twitter account have disappeared amid widespread speculation that it will cease to exist or be folded into Marco Rubio’s State Department.
The pausing of aid immediately sent shockwaves across the planet, not least in the international media, many of which, unbeknownst to their readers, are totally dependent on financing from Washington.
In total, USAID spends over a quarter of a billion dollars yearly training and funding a vast, sprawling network of more than 6,200 reporters at nearly 1,000 news outlets or journalism organizations, all under the rubric of promoting “independent media.”
With the money tap unexpectedly turned off, outlets around the world are panicking, turning to their readers for donations, and thereby outing themselves as fronts for U.S. power.
Read the article to find out which countries and what publications are affected.
