The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has indeed funded a significant portion of Ukrainian media. However, the exact degree of dependence varied from outlet to outlet: some grants accounted for up to 100% of a media organization’s budget, while others were much smaller. Moreover, Ukrainian media receive support not only from USAID, but also from the European Union, the United Nations, and various other countries, foundations, and organizations.
Russian media claim that USAID allegedly “sponsored 90% of Ukrainian media”. “90% of all media lived on American money,” propaganda sources sneeringly state, going on to claim that virtually all Ukrainian media are now “on the verge of bankruptcy” after newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump suspended all USAID grants for 90 days.
This information is also spread by the WikiLeaks project, which Russian propagandists cite as a source.
The claim circulating online is manipulative and not true.
First, WikiLeaks cannot be considered reliable as a primary source due to its founder Julian Assange’s pro-Russian leanings and his ties to the Kremlin.
Second, WikiLeaks bases its claims on an article published on Medium, which does not include the information that 90% of Ukrainian media are dependent on USAID. It also refers to a report by Reporters Without Borders. However, the organization added the following clarification at the end of its article: “This article previously stated that nine out of 10 Ukrainian media outlets receive funding from USAID. The article now clarifies that nine out of 10 Ukrainian outlets receive international aid and USAID is the main donor. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.“
Reporters Without Borders also cites comments by Oksana Romaniuk, director of the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), who discussed the consequences of the 90-day suspension of all USAID programs and projects.
“The problem is that almost everyone had grants. The question is that for some of them these grants amounted to 100% of their income and they could survive only thanks to the grants. For some it was 40-60%, for others it was less,” said Oksana Romaniuk. However, she also emphasized that grants were provided not only by the USA, but also by the EU and the UN.
“And even though American grants have probably been the key to the market, and the U.S. has invested the most not only in the Ukrainian economy, but also in the Ukrainian media, we still have European institutions, and I hope that they will now show leadership and come up with proposals for the Ukrainian media and the Ukrainian state. To support and protect us from what could happen,” Romaniuk added.
In addition, IMI conducted its own survey of Ukrainian journalists on the potential impact of the suspension of U.S. funding. According to the results, only 35% of the media outlets surveyed said that more than 75% of their editorial budgets depended on U.S. grants.
Previously, StopFake debunked the false claim that USAID allegedly funded Hollywood stars’ visits to Ukraine during the war.
