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As President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk scale down USAID funding, they argue that the money is wasted on hyper-revolutionary culture wars. This narrative absurdly misrepresents the strategic importance of USAID’s work — and among the many most crucial aspects is the large-ranging effort to foster unbiased media in rising democracies. Americans will have to know the way devastating this is able to be.

For example the purpose, a just right check would be Armenia, which I do know well thru a lot of visits and an array of business and personal collaborations with apolitical pro-democracy NGOs, think tanks and volunteer teams. It is a u . s . at a crossroads between an authoritarian previous and democratic aspirations. It is a former communist republic throughout the Soviet Union that finds itself in the course of a real and troublesome pivot towards the West.

An important to the democratization which the us of a entered after its Velvet Revolution in 2018 is the improvement of a certified and unbiased media landscape. I do know firsthand how vital USAID is to this – and the way the impression of the cuts is already being felt.

HETQ/Media Manufacturing facility, a training floor for investigative journalists, is struggling to maintain its doorways open. Known for producing reporters who expose corruption and hold power in charge, this group dangers closure with out USAID give a boost to. Internews Media Application, a crucial accomplice in strengthening local journalism, has been compelled to shut down its place of job and lay off six staff, with the few last crew participants working remotely. Its chief, has left the united states, signaling a severe setback for impartial reporting in a area liable to disinformation.

The American College of Armenia, which is a successor instance to different countries and a shining jewel within the crown of U.S. smooth energy, faces cuts to a important and lengthy-awaited graduate journalism program.

Meanwhile, the Nationwide Endowment for Democracy, one of the largest media grant organizations, has seen an immense price range lower, severely affecting native retailers like EVN, which is through far the top-rated supply of deep investigation and lengthy-form unbiased analysis within the country. The loss of funding has ended in the cancellation of the influential Media Pageant in 2025 and threatens the sustainability of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Armenian provider. Freedom Home, another cornerstone of media freedom advocacy which operated within the us of a, can be dealing with extraordinarily severe monetary challenges, jeopardizing its mission to safeguard press freedoms.

The blithe derailing of all this – with the outrageously false narrative that it’s by some means relates to fighting wokeness – risking now not only Armenia’s democratic trajectory but also U.S. strategic interests in the area. For these aren’t simply budgetary considerations — they signify a strategic retreat from assisting democracy.

A free and skilled media ecosystem is vital for rising democracies. It ensures accountability, exposes corruption, and educates electorate, enabling them to make knowledgeable choices. In fragile democracies like Armenia, the place influence from neighborhood Russia and its disinformation campaigns loom huge, independent media is the frontline protection towards authoritarian narratives.

Indeed, there is a flip facet to fostering free media. Authoritarian regimes global — from Russia to Hungary and Turkey — have proven that one of their first steps toward consolidating energy is to crush impartial journalism. In Russia, this process started two decades ago, laying the groundwork for a full-blown dictatorship and a disinformation ecosystem that now threatens democracies globally through bot attacks and propaganda.

Armenia’s current fight underscores the significance of maintaining independent media. With out USAID’s beef up, such shops face monetary ruin, making them at risk of co-optation by oligarchic pursuits or state censorship. The void left at the back of could be crammed by way of disinformation and propaganda. In essentially the most dismal end result, this risks pushing Armenia again toward the Russian orbit and perhaps its own authoritarianism.

The effects lengthen past Armenia’s borders: nations everywhere the sector, together with neighboring Georgia, are beset by identical challenges. Serving to them – and their media – is just not basically charity; it’s a strategic funding in delicate energy. With the aid of fostering informed citizenries in emerging democracies, the U.S. reinforces democratic norms and counters authoritarian affect.

The present assault on USAID reflects a broader ideological shift. Via framing foreign aid as wasteful, Trump and Musk are in reality questioning America’s function as a global leader in promoting democracy. Not all criticisms are without benefit – like every large paperwork USAID has inefficiencies – however to push aside its work outright ignores the strategic value it brings in countering authoritarianism.

The query then turns into: Does the U.S. nonetheless want to lead the free world and champion democratic values, which embrace the global fostering of free media? If this is the case, leaving behind USAID’s strategic investments can be a giant error which might cede influence to authoritarian powers like Russia and China and permit them to gleefully enter the vacuum. It might be a betrayal of the post-WWII mission upheld with the aid of each U.S. administration, Republican and Democrat alike.

Then again, if the U.S. is now aligning itself with autocrats and abandoning the purpose of spreading democracy, then the funds cuts make excellent sense. If aiding authoritarianism is the new strategic purpose, why, indeed, put money into democratic resilience? This appears to be the direction under Trump, along with his administration’s now-open support for Russia in opposition to Ukraine and indifference toward The united states’s traditional European allies.

Ultimately, USAID and its media development efforts is concerning the identity of america on this planet. If Congress – which in reality does have the facility of the purse – follows Trump’s lead, it is going to sign not only a retreat from democratic leadership however an alignment with authoritarianism.

Dan Perry was the highest AP editor in Europe and Africa, within the Middle East, and in the Caribbean. He used to be chairman of the International Press Affiliation in Jerusalem. He writes steadily on world affairs, expertise, and media, is the author of two books on the Middle East. Follow him at danperry.substack.com.

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