Internews: USAID's Media Machine and the Hidden Hand of NATO Expansion

Image by Knelstrom / Adobe Stock

By Martin Foskett

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For decades, Internews, a media development organization heavily funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has operated under the guise of promoting press freedom in post-Soviet states. But beneath its mission to support independent journalism lies a far more strategic agenda: shaping narratives to bolster NATO expansion and Western influence.

A Strategic Mission Disguised as Press Freedom

With USAID pouring at least $470 million into Internews, the organization has spent years training journalists, funding media outlets, and fostering a supposedly independent press across Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, and other former Soviet nations. However, rather than promoting neutral media landscapes, Internews' documents reveal an agenda centred on political transformation.

According to its 2001 Annual Report, The Washington Post described Internews as "one of the more successful agents of change in the former Soviet Union." More than just funding press outlets, Internews was actively fueling movements that reduced Moscow's influence in key geopolitical regions.

The organization itself admitted in internal reports:

"Internews does not just produce television and radio shows... it is more interested in using broadcast media as a lever to effect social and political transformation."

The Color Revolutions and NATO's Interests

During the early 2000s, Internews played a direct role in supporting the so-called "Color Revolutions" that saw pro-Western regimes rise in key post-Soviet states.

Georgia's Rose Revolution (2003)

Internews provided critical funding and training to Rustavi-2, the leading independent television station that mobilized public protests against the Georgian government. The station's coverage of election fraud ignited mass demonstrations, culminating in the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze. As Internews' 2004 report openly acknowledged:

"One of the star players in this historic event was the gutsy, independent television station Rustavi-2."
"Since starting work in Georgia in 1994, Internews has provided extensive support to Rustavi-2, including training staff in investigative journalism and news reporting skills, and providing management, technical, and legal advice."

By July 2004, Rustavi-2 had officially become an associate member of Internews International, further cementing the organization's influence in Georgia's media and political landscape.

Ukraine's Orange Revolution (2004)

By 2003, Internews had conducted over 220 media training programs in Ukraine, trained more than 2,800 journalists, produced over 220 television programs, and funded independent media organizations like Telekritika, which played a pivotal role in the 2004 Orange Revolution.

As election fraud sparked public outrage, Western-funded media networks, including those backed by the Internet, amplified calls for mass protests. The result? A pro-Western government in Ukraine that brought the country closer to NATO and further from Moscow's sphere of influence.

By 2005, Internews proudly declared that it had produced Proyav Chasu, one of Ukraine's most popular television programs, which it acknowledged had "highlighted popular demonstrations against election fraud."

A Global Influence Machine

By 2007, Internews' influence had grown exponentially:

Training over 60,000 journalists worldwide

Establishing 2,500+ independent media outlets

Reaching an audience of nearly 1 billion people

Advocating for media laws in 21 countries

Operating in 70 countries with offices in 42 cities

This unprecedented media influence allowed Western narratives to dominate information landscapes in strategic regions worldwide. The Washington Post noted that Internews had become "one of the more successful agents of change in the former Soviet Union."

From Regime Change Abroad to Censorship at Home

While Internews initially positioned itself as a champion of free speech abroad, its mission took a sharp turn after the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit referendum. The same organization that once fought for open information in former Soviet states began advocating for censorship and content moderation in the West.

Targeting "Misinformation" in the Digital Age

Following Donald Trump's election, Internews and other USAID-funded organizations pivoted toward fighting "misinformation" online. Jeanne Bourgault, Internews' CEO, spoke at the World Economic Forum about the need for a global advertising "exclusion list" to deplatform disfavored media outlets.

This effort coincided with the corporate boycott of Twitter (now 𝕏), which sought to cut off ad revenue for platforms resisting establishment narratives. In a stark reversal, the organization that once fought for "media freedom" in authoritarian states was now lobbying for corporate-driven censorship of alternative voices in Western democracies.

Who Really Benefits?

A deeper look at the outcomes of Internews' decades-long operations raises critical questions:

Did these efforts help the people in these countries—or did they serve NATO's strategic interests?

Did they make the U.S. safer or provoke unnecessary geopolitical tensions?

Why are American taxpayers funding an organization that now advocates censorship within the U.S.?

The actual beneficiaries of Internews' operations appear to be Western defence contractors, NATO expansionists, and corporate media conglomerates. While Internews claimed to promote democracy, its work often destabilized governments, advanced geopolitical goals, and ultimately ushered in a new Cold War.

The Cost of USAID's Information Warfare.

Internews was founded during the Cold War to facilitate open dialogue between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Ironically, its modern operations have contributed to the opposite—escalating tensions, fueling proxy conflicts, and ushering in an era of digital censorship in the West.

With USAID's budget exceeding $40 billion per year, Americans have reason to question whether funding global media manipulation truly serves their interests—or whether it simply enables the same elite institutions that profit from perpetual war and political control.

#USAID #Internews #NATO #MediaInfluence #Censorship #Geopolitics