The conspiracy hatched on Tuesday after a technical glitch prevented Politico’s employees from receiving their paychecks. MAGA influencers, including Benny Johnson, Dana Loesch, and Rob Smith, all saw this as a direct result of Donald Trump suspending USAID’s programs. Johnson fueled the unfounded belief by posting screenshots from USASpending.gov showing that the federal government paid Politico $8.2 million last year, and wrongly assumed that it all came from USAID.
Right-wing commentators then found what they claimed was evidence that USAID funneled money to the Associated Press, although much of that is due to syndication agreements between the AP and government media outlets such as Voice of America.
Even the Trump administration weighed in, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters at a briefing that she “can confirm that the more than eight million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer’s dime will no longer be happening.”
As ludicrous as this false narrative is, the right is not likely to listen to evidence that goes against its “findings,” especially as media outlets continue to report news from the Trump administration that it dislikes. The expenditures it is decrying are a tiny fraction of the trillions of dollars in the federal budget, and go toward subscriptions and advertising. But all the right sees is an excuse to go after the media outlets that criticize it, even if some conservatives, like Johnson, took money from the Russian government.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( MAGA Melts Down Over Conspiracy That USAID Secretly Funds News Media )
Also on site :