US President Donald Trump's $268 million aid freeze: A looming crisis for some South African media houses.
Image: IOL / AI
US President Donald Trump has ended over $268 million allocated by Congress to support some specific media houses tasked with ensuring the “free flow” of information. However, this move may plunge some NGOs and prominent media outlets.
Trump shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with his confidant, South African-born Elon Musk, whom Trump handpicked to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. He called USAID “a “criminal organisation”.
USAID supports media houses in more than 30 countries, including South Africa. However, locally, many organisations have been hesitant to disclose their funders.
Reports suggest that prominent media houses in South Africa may have been massive beneficiaries of USAID-linked organisations, including the Open Society Foundation.
Among some of the beneficiaries of the US-funded aid is the Daily Maverick, which on its website discloses that it receives philanthropic funding from organisations including Open Society Foundation, Donald Gordon Foundation, Elaine & David Potter Foundation, and one of South Africa’s leading banks, Absa.
However, the Daily Maverick doesn’t reveal the conditions of the funds.
Knowing the Open Society Foundation — which belongs to George Soros and is now accused by the Trump administration of using USAID to trigger civil unrest in many countries — it remains unclear what its mandate is.
Out of the public’s interest in knowing who funds media in South Africa, IOL asked the Daily Maverick and News24 about their source of funding and whether the USAID freeze would affect their operations and possibly lead to layoffs.
News24 did not respond, however, instead of responding the questions the Daily Maverick posted IOL's questions and the answers on its website, despite asking IOL for an extension to respond.
Daily Maverick said it hasn't received any direct USAID funding, and added that it lamented the low levels of aid support for journalism around the world.
"As journalism suffers the impact of digital disruption, and some of our colleagues operate in war-torn countries or oppressive regimes, often foreign aid is the only option for sustainability," it said in its posted response.
"At 0.2% of all foreign aid, we believe this is a tragically low allocation and we can see the impact on not only our degraded information system but also democratic institutions."
On the question asked on possible job losses, DM referred IOL to the announcement published on September 19, 2024.
DM said traditional business models for newsrooms — who are under 'extreme financial pressure' were not working.
"The future looks bleak unless a policy intervention occurs that supports journalism, with incentives, rebates and other measures."
When asked if media organisations should be allowed to receive funding from individuals or organisations not affiliated with it, it said it was a "strange and possibly leading question, news publishers have accepted advertising for centuries and support from readers through subscriptions, memberships and donations".
When asked about the future of media houses in South Africa, DM said 'politically compromised and economically compromised' newsrooms were being "decimated, and the future looks bleak unless we see a policy intervention".
Solly Mapaila, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party, according to Mapaila in an article published by Sunday Independent in October last year, the Daily Maverick has been receiving funding from the US State Department via the US consulate in Cape Town.
In June 2023, the Daily Maverick attended a conference in Gdańsk, Poland, hosted by the European Solidarity Centre and the Brenthurst Foundation.
The conference was titled "Rolling Back Authoritarianism" and framed as a pro-democracy initiative, but difficult to ignore is the fact that the event was heavily funded by the Oppenheimer family, which has deep financial pockets and controls many companies in the country and overseas.
In an opinion piece published in the Sunday Independent last year, Solly Tshabalala, an independent writer and analyst, wrote that Greg Mills and Ray Hartley, both tied to the Brenthurst Foundation and regular contributors to the Daily Maverick, further underscore this connection.
The Brenthurst Foundation was established by the Oppenheimer family and is known for allegedly promoting neoliberal economic policies across Africa, including the Government of National Unity (GNU).
According to a USAID fact sheet, which has since been taken offline, in 2023, the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists, assisted 707 non-state news outlets and supported 279 media-sector civil society organisations dedicated to strengthening independent media.
Of course, Trump can’t freeze the much-needed funds without consequences.
Immediately after the freeze went into effect, journalistic organisations around the world went to town, dragging Trump for his move to end the exploitation of American taxpayers’ funds through the media.
Reflecting on history, at the end of the Cold War, while the United States was aiding apartheid South Africa in its war against the independence struggles in neighboring Angola and Namibia, the US government quietly established a propaganda campaign in South African media, which they claimed would educate the Black population about democracy.
Fast-forward: USAID has reportedly funded media houses to spread salacious gossip and influence public discourse in South Africa and other countries.
Internal communication in 1986 outlines how the US government funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars to South Africa and recruited local media outlets and journalists to “create awareness of (and hopefully adherence to) democratic ideals and principles among the black communities”.
A biweekly feature titled “How Democracy Works” was produced in collaboration with Drum Publications and published in City Press, which was chosen for being “the largest circulation newspaper among blacks in South Africa.”
The document outlined various South African writers and editors recruited to contribute to the series, including Percy Qoboza, then editor of City Press, Raymond Louw, and Denis Beckett, editor of Frontline.
However, it is not clear whether these individuals were aware of the US government’s role in the project.
This story will be updated after IOL receives comment from Mail & Guardian and News24.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za
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