First of all, we have to get rid of this mentality that only American or US-funded journalists are the most pure, non-biased and genuine representation of media. Disinformation is real, and American taxpayers’ money was being used all along to disseminate it.
Just look at this data. USAID was funding more than 6,000 journalists abroad, also more than 700 media outlets. Well, not anymore. For this year along, the US agency had earmarked $268.4 million to support journalists and “free flow of information.”
Coming to Ukraine, the US funded nine out of ten media outlets. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Ukraine’s so-called independent media required $100 million over the past three years to rebuild the media landscape inside Ukraine, Russia as well as Belarus.
In the name of shoring up free media, the USAID ended up propping new propaganda mouthpieces, who would just publish anti-Russia content and falsely trick the people of Ukraine into believing that their nation was actually winning the war.
All these years, the US wanted to hijack the free flow of information. In September last year, Meta and Google cracked down on all Russia media outlets. The move came after US State Department said Russia was using its RT media to conduct “covert activities”. US prosecutors went after RT’s chief editor, accusing her of designing an “entire empire of covert projects” in order to influence “Western audiences.”
Before that, RT and other Russia media outlets had already been banned by UK, Canada and the EU. Some nations even charged these outlets with crimes linked to money laundering. The idea was to block the flow of information from Russia.
Then, they started funding media in Ukraine. Now that their funding has been frozen by Trump administration, this propaganda empire is already coming crashing down.
According to the RSF, several NGOs, media outlets, and journalists are descending into “chaotic uncertainty”. Several media outlets in Ukraine have announced the suspension of their activities and are searching for other solutions.
Over the past year, we saw several instances when disinformation from Ukraine led to confusion and chaos worldwide. These US-backed outlets blasted Amnesty International when the allegations of human rights abuses were levelled against Ukraine’s forces. They rejected reports of Ukraine losing territory in the east and internal government changes.
These outlets would paint a picture of Ukraine successfully slowing down a large and well-organised Russian advance. On social media, optimistic footage circulated actively, reinforcing the false idea of a strong counterattack by Ukraine.
The irony is striking. Ukraine was using American money to trick Americans and provide them with false information about war. In an interview with the Financial Times, a former senior Kyiv official, admitted that Ukraine often used what he called “counter-propaganda” during the intense battles for Bakhmut. This effort aimed to maintain an image of success, even as Western allies questioned whether holding Bakhmut was worth the heavy losses. US-backed media frequently referred to the city as “Fortress Bakhmut” and “indestructible.”
Kyiv propaganda often supported false claims, with some statements later being proven incorrect. Forbes cited an example where Kyiv Minister Mykhailo Fedorov falsely claimed that a cyberattack by Ukraine’s IT Army had shut down the Moscow Exchange, when in fact, it continued operating.
So, this is the real face of Ukraine’s propaganda, nurtured by none other than US taxpayers’ money.
But, all thanks to Trump and Elon Musk that the USAID and these fake news outlets have been shut down. The propaganda arm of the Zelensky regime has now been bulldozed by the Trump juggernaut.
