NEW YORK: Several major news outlets including Politico and the Associated Press have rejected unsubstantiated accusations by President Donald Trump and right-wing influencers that the US Agency for International Development paid millions of taxpayer dollars to newsrooms in exchange for coverage favouring the Democratic Party.
Trump wrote on social media on Thursday: “LOOKS LIKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN STOLLEN AT USAID, AND OTHER AGENCIES, MUCH OF IT GOING TO THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA AS A ‘PAYOFF’ FOR CREATING GOOD STORIES ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS.”
Prominent Trump supporters, including billionaire Elon Musk, amplified the narrative about USAID directly funding some news outlets including Politico and the New York Times.
The White House and USAID did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment about the claims Trump on Thursday accused Politico, which he referred to as “the left wing ‘rag’,” of receiving $8 million from USAID.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced a day earlier the government would cancel more than $8 million of subscription expenditure to the news organization.
Politico in a statement Thursday said the organization had never received US government funding but that some government agencies subscribe to Politico Pro, a policy intelligence news platform. Politico did not disclose the amount its government customers spent on subscriptions.