Back in July, we flagged the Trump administration’s nearly $5 million grant program to bankroll far-right causes in Europe. The scheme has only grown: the State Department has now made more than $7.9 million available for the effort, including a new $1 million grant to build an “independent journalism consortium” that will produce U.S. taxpayer-funded, government-shaped coverage of European immigration policy.
To truly understand what the administration’s idea of “independence” is, read this Talking Points Memo reprint of a story from The Redoubt:
As part of a grant opportunity posted Aug. 18, the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor announced it was looking for a partner—possibly including “[f]or-profit organizations or businesses”—that could help it “develop an independent journalism consortium in Europe.” According to the listing, the grant, valued at $1 million, will be awarded as part of a “cooperative agreement” just two weeks after the funding opportunity was first publicized. … However, a review by The Redoubt shows that the State Department has now made more than $7.9 million in such funding available, including a grant worth almost $2 million … for an analysis of how “foreign governments and their proxies weaponize migration.” …
The State Department envisions close collaboration between the Trump administration and the recipients of its largesse. Should the money be offered as part of a “cooperative agreement,” the department would insist on “substantial involvement” in the project, including the right to “approve key personnel.” … “The administration prioritizes democracy and freedom of expression,” the spokesperson said, “in the European region.”
In other words, the administration is dressing up state propaganda as press freedom. This is nothing less than an attempt to manufacture and amplify pro-Trump messaging and to help far-right parties like Germany’s AfD.
The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.
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