The Impact of Ending U.S. International Media Assistance. With Susan Abbott. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 2026.

Until 2025, the U.S. had been the largest donor supporting independent media. This assistance came to a screeching halt in early 2025 following the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. The cuts came at a particularly hard time for independent media, which already faced an existential crisis in the face of rapid technological change. This paper draws on 67 interviews and a global survey of media outlets (n=177) across 44 countries to explore the impacts of terminating most US support for independent media. We find that the cuts resulted in a loss of one third or employees and journalists for the median media organizations formerly receiving US support. The cuts were particularly damaging to small local/regional media and exiled media. While the financial impacts have been substantial, the loss of political and diplomatic support for a free press has been more significant. Unfortunately, donors who still value a free press have not stepped up to fill the gap either financially or politically, and 48 percent of survey respondents report that support from other international donors has also decreased. The mantle of US value-based leadership in supporting independent media is unlikely to be picked-up again anytime soon, but it is not too late for other donors to increase their support for many worthwhile investments in the sector.