As Donald Trump and Elon Musk have moved to shut down US Agency for International Development (USAID)—a federal institution responsible for allocating most of the United States’ foreign assistance and widely, and increasingly, seen as an extended arm of the CIA—there has been a surge in media reports on how the freeze of US funding is affecting so-called ‘independent’ NGOs and media outlets worldwide. Earlier this week, for instance, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) announced that it would suspend humanitarian work in nearly 20 countries. In 2024 alone the NRC received approximately 20 per cent of its budget—around $150 million—from US funding.

The halt in US foreign assistance is indeed a major setback for these supposedly ‘independent’ media outlets worldwide. According to the NGO Reporters Without Borders, Washington had been financing 6,200 journalists and 707 media outlets globally. USAID had also directed substantial funding to Eastern Europe, where the agency made a return in 2022 with a specific focus on media freedom and the promotion of independent journalism. Hungary was at the centre of these financial flows, receiving a total of $32.6 million in USAID assistance between 2022 and 2024, with approximately 30 per cent of that sum allocated to Hungarian media outlets.

In a recent piece, Reuters chose to illustrate the impact of the US foreign assistance freeze on media in Eastern Europe by focusing on Hungarian opposition media. The article takes readers inside the editorial room of Átlátszó, a government-critical investigative outlet that primarily reports on alleged corruption surrounding the Hungarian government.

Independent Without Being Independent

‘Without these funds, it would be very hard to maintain independent media here,’ the outlet’s managing director Tamás Bodoky complained. He added that Átlátszó is currently searching for new donors and attempting to increase crowdfunding. According to Bodoky, USAID funding accounted for 10–15 per cent of the outlet’s budget last year.

The article then continues with the usual accusations against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, alleging that he has dismantled media freedom, taken control of independent outlets, and made their operations nearly impossible. It claims that there is effectively no independent media left in Hungary, particularly after the USAID funding freeze.

However, that is far from the reality. While the Hungarian government has indeed taken steps to address the overwhelming dominance of left-leaning media in the Hungarian landscape prior to 2010, opposition outlets that claim to be ‘independent’ still command a larger readership than conservative media. A 2021 analysis found that non-government-affiliated outlets accounted for 76 per cent of all online media views, while pro-government portals had only a 24 per cent share during the examined period. A quick look at SimilarWeb, a website that measures online media consumption, reveals that among the five most-visited Hungarian news outlets, only one—Origo.hu—is considered pro-government.

‘If an outlet cannot survive without US funding, then it was never truly independent in the first place’

Given this, it is clear that Hungarian opposition media has lost access to significant funding. However, if these outlets truly claim to be ‘independent’, this should not pose a problem. For a media organization to maintain independence, it should not rely on a single source of funding, particularly one tied to a foreign government. If an outlet cannot survive without US funding, then it was never truly independent in the first place. Of course, one might argue that US financing comes with no strings attached—but that would be remarkably naive. Major powers, whether the US, Russia, or China, never give away money for free; in this case, what they are buying is influence over narratives.

What Reuters conveniently failed to mention is that during Hungary’s 2022 parliamentary election, the Hungarian opposition and its media received massive funding from the US through an NGO called Action for Democracy. According to intelligence findings released after the election, the sum was as high as $7.2 million.

Network of Influence

While dismantling USAID, US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have also exposed an international network funnelling US taxpayer money to some of the biggest Western mainstream media outlets, including The New York Times, BBC, POLITICO, and even Reuters itself. According to a recent post on Musk’s X platform, Reuters received a staggering $9 million from USAID between 2018 and 2022 for a ‘large-scale social deception’ project.

Viktor Orbán welcomed Trump and Musk’s revelations, stating that the world owes a debt of gratitude to the US president for exposing and putting an end to this ‘dark conspiracy’. Later, he announced that—as also mentioned in the Reuters’ article—the Hungarian government would take steps to ensure that all US aid funding directed toward NGOs and media outlets is fully disclosed, declaring that ‘the time has come to eliminate these foreign networks’.

Recognizing the risks posed by such foreign funding, the Hungarian government established the Sovereignty Protection Office (SZH) in 2024, which now leads the fight against foreign interference and political meddling in the country. In its latest report, focused on USAID’s activities, SZH called for changes in Hungarian legislation regarding NGO and media financing. The proposal seeks to differentiate between genuinely civic organizations and those engaging in political activity. It also calls for NGOs involved in political advocacy to be subject to the same strict financial disclosure rules that apply to political parties and advocates for a ban on foreign funding.

Previously, SZH accused Átlátszó of conducting covert intelligence activities and serving US political and economic interests.

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