Wikileaks reveals US spent $472.6M to promote covert censorship, media control through NGO

ISTANBUL

Wikileaks has revealed that the US allegedly transferred nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6 million) through Internews Network, a global media non-governmental organization (NGO) suspected of promoting covert censorship and media control.

Internews claims to have “worked with” 4,291 media outlets, producing 4,799 hours of broadcasts in one year alone, reaching up to 778 million people globally. It also “trained" over 9,000 journalists in 2023 and supported social media censorship initiatives, Wikileaks said in a series of posts on X.

USASpending data shows that 87% of the funding, equivalent to $415 million, came from USAID in the last 17 years, while an additional $57 million was awarded by the US Department of State in the same period.

Internews is led by Jeanne Bourgault, who, reports suggest, earns $451,000 annually. Bourgault, a vocal advocate for global advertising “exclusion lists,” has pushed for censoring what she deems “disinformation.”

Critics argue this amounts to subjective censorship, as her definitions of “good” or “bad” content remain contentious. Social media users labeled the US government supporting the organization as a "literal state propaganda network."

Moreover, according to X user named Reddit Liesi Anna Soellner, a director at Internews, also serves as Reddit’s vice president of communications, fueling concerns about its role in social media censorship.

Internews’s ties to George Soros’s Open Society Foundations have raised further questions. In 1994, during the siege of Sarajevo, Internews partnered with Soros to establish the Balkan Media Network, connecting independent media organizations in the former Yugoslavia, according to information that can be seen on its website. Soros is known for his role in the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and alleged interference in domestic affairs.

WikiLeaks’ revelation included key figures linked to Internews, such as Richard J. Kessler, a Democratic donor, and Simone Otus Coxe, wife of NVIDIA billionaire Trench Coxe. In 2023, Jeanne Bourgault launched a $10 million fund at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), supported by Hillary Clinton.

Critics highlight Internews’s opaque operations, including six subsidiaries, one based in the Cayman Islands, a major offshore financial center, and its main billing address listed as an abandoned building in California.

The revelations come amid President Donald Trump’s freeze on USAID’s budget, citing misaligned priorities with his “America First” policy.

A White House statement asserted that USAID’s initiatives “do not align with American interests” and sometimes “destabilize world peace.”

The move has sparked concerns among global aid organizations reliant on US support.