(In)dependent journalism: USAID funded media outlets aligned with the Democrats

Information continues to come to light about how the U.S. Agency for International Development earmarked taxpayer money for things like LGBTI activism, transgender operas and other expenses with a strong ideological bias.

One of the latest bits of information to come to light is that media outlets such as Politico, Associated Press, New York Times and Reuters received funding from USAID, according to government data.

According to published records, for example, Politico received at least $8 million in aid from the government in 2024, while the Associated Press has received millions of dollars over the years.

In the case of NYT, most of the funding came from the Department of Health and Human Services, with $26.90 million, followed by the National Science Foundation with $19.15 million.

The information is made known at a time when journalists such as Benny Johnson are claiming that Politico has not paid employees their salaries. It would be the first time that the company has missed a pay period, coming immediately after the announcement of the closure of USAID.

According to a published post, the media outlet told its employees that the delay is due to a technical problem.

"Now we learn Politico — a 'news company' — which spent the last 10 years trying to destroy the MAGA Movement was being massively funded by USAID. Trump & Elon deleted their funding. Now Politico will go out of business. The corruption is endless," Johnson wrote on X.

The fact, in addition to being on the official government data page, the fact been commented on by other journalists and by Elon Musk himself, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency.

Upon learning of the information about the media funding, Musk reacted on social media and argued that the situation will not stand for long.

8 million dollars to “subsidize” Politico

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the USAID money sent to Politico.

I was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets including Politico who I know has a seat in this room. I can confirm that the more than $8M taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer's dime will no longer be happening,” he told a press conference.

“The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now,” Leavitt added.

The BBC also benefited from USAID

USAID did not only fund national media. It was also known that there are international media outlets such as the BBC that receive funding from the agency.

"Shahira (not her real name), a journalist who manages the Radio M station, despite increasing restrictions from the Taliban. With support from USAID’s Afghan Support Project, local radio stations like Shahira’s receive funds and equipment – including solar panels and batteries – and we provide training and mentoring," the BBC explained in its annual 2023-2024 report.