Claims about USAID funding are spreading online. Many are not based on facts
Claims about USAID funding are spreading online. Many are not based on facts
False and misleading social media posts are circulating online as the Trump administration moves to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said to reporters Tuesday that USAID had spent “$1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces; $70,000 for the production of a DEI musical in Ireland; $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.” Those claims were picked up and spread widely on social media throughout the week.
Only the grant to a Serbian organization called Grupa Izadji was awarded by USAID. Its stated aim is to “to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”
The rest were awarded by the State Department’s Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
