Mainstream Media Boost ‘Independent’ Media Which Depend On U.S. Assistance
Sun 11:48 am +00:00, 9 Feb 2025
Question is, which media is truly independent and which is directly, or indirectly, funded by the Borg?
As Private Eye used to say, “I think that we should be told”
But of course we won’t be
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What is the meaning of ‘independent’ in English language?
independent adjective (NOT INFLUENCED)
- not influenced or controlled in any way by other people, events, or things
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th Ed.) and others:
independent /ĭn″dĭ-pĕn′dənt/ adjective
- Not governed by a foreign power; self-governing.
- Free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others; self-reliant.
“an independent mind.”- Not determined or influenced by someone or something else; not contingent.
“a decision independent of the outcome of the study.”- Affiliated with or loyal to no one political party or organization.
- Not dependent on or affiliated with a larger or controlling entity.
“an independent food store; an independent film.”- Not relying on others for support, care, or funds; self-supporting.
- Providing or being sufficient income to enable one to live without working.
“a person of independent means.”
Following the recent revelations that many outlets and journalist are financed directly or indirectly by U.S. government organization like USAID or NED the mainstream media have set out to redefine the meaning of ‘independent’.
‘Independent’ now seem to be anyone how gets his paycheck from the U.S. while producing reports or rumors designed to fit U.S. policy narratives.
Consider these recent reports:
- USAID and the Media in a ‘Time of Monsters’ – Columbia Journalism Review, Feb 4 2025
What the aid funding freeze means for independent journalism around the world. - Foreign Strongmen Cheer as Musk Dismantles U.S. Aid Agency (archived) – New York Times, Feb 5 2025
- Strongmen celebrate as Trump aid freeze hits media – Financial Times, Feb 6 2025
- Independent media in Russia, Ukraine lose their funding with USAID freeze (archived) – Washington Post, Feb 7 2025
From the first one:
[A]ccording to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the aid freeze appears to have put a hold on $268 million that was earmarked to fund “independent media and the free flow of information” this year. In the recent past, USAID had boasted of supporting more than six thousand journalists, around seven hundred independent newsrooms, and nearly three hundred media-focused civil society groups in thirty or so countries—and yet, RSF notes, the full impact of the freeze is hard to measure, since many recipients are “hesitant to draw attention for fear of risking long-term funding or coming under political attacks.”
From the NYT report:
Agency grants to promote democracy, human rights and good governance have gone to support election monitoring groups, anti-corruption watchdogs, independent media outlets and human rights organizations — exactly the kind of oversight that leaders like Mr. Putin detest.
From the Post:
The suspension of USAID has had a dramatic effect on both Ukrainian and Russian independent news outlets that relied on the grants to operate and produced work often critical of their governments.
…
Ukraine’s independent media, a collection of small regional outlets, muckraking investigative websites and internet news platforms, have been reeling since the announcement, with some organizations saying that they are just weeks away from slashing staff or closing down entirely.“We risk losing the achievements of three decades of work and increasing threats to Ukraine’s statehood, democratic values, and pro-Western orientation,” Detector Media, a journalism watchdog, said in a statement on its website last week.
The last paragraph seems to be an admission that ‘Ukraine’s statehood, democratic values, and pro-Western orientation’, which – when you scratch their surfaces are all quite dubious – are the result of U.S. paid propaganda.
One also wonders how the WaPo writers can write of independent media when even a few paragraphs in the Ukrainian Detector Media (also U.S. financed) admits that these are depending on foreign payments:
Detector Media’s head Nataliia Lygachova told The Post that she thought “more than 50 percent” of the media organizations that receive foreign grants were dependent on American assistance.
A more correct headline for the WaPo piece is thus:
“U.S. state-funded media in Russia, Ukraine lose their funding with USAID freeze”
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCPR) has been behind several large stories like the Panama Papers which revealed the dirty offshore businesses of a large number of people the U.S. dislikes. In a (highly recommendable) video reportage about the project its founder and publisher, Drew Sullivan, admits on camera that the ‘independent’ organization was launched and is financed by U.S. government entities.
The money, more than 50% of OCCPR’s budget, comes with strings attached. All major management positions within OCCPR have to be confirmed by the U.S. financing agency. OCCRP reporting about crimes the U.S. is involved in is discouraged if not prohibited. You might want to guess where the selected hacked and leaked material OCCPR reports of is coming from …
Over the last week we have learned that many ‘independent’ international outlets are primarily funded by U.S. government entities – directly or through U.S. funded Non-Governmental Organization. Some estimate that 90% of the media in Ukraine is depending on U.S. taxpayer money.
All this came out due to the Trump’s administration’s freeze of USAID money. But there are many more U.S. government entities, the National Endowment for Democracy, the State Department, the Pentagon and the CIA, who each have likewise funds to spend on ‘independent’ foreign media and influence organizations.
It is high time to dismantle networks like these:
WikiLeaks @wikileaks – 3:47 UTC · Feb 8, 2025USAID has pushed nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6m) through a secretive US government financed NGO, “Internews Network” (IN), which has “worked with” 4,291 media outlets, producing in one year 4,799 hours of broadcasts reaching up to 778 million people and “training” over 9000 journalists (2023 figures). IN has also supported social media censorship initiatives.
