3 weeks ago
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On the 22nd of February 2025, Flemish right-wing satirical news outlet ‘tScheldt published an article in which they claimed that the Flemish weekly magazine Knack had been receiving US taxpayer money for years. ‘tScheldt claimed this money was being used to spread woke ideologies abroad. The claim turns out to be mostly false.
‘tScheldt is a satirical news outlet in Flanders which focuses on political news. The harsh and sometimes misleading nature of their articles has caused them to be caught up in several controversies.
Knack is a Flemish weekly news-magazine established in 1971. They are known for making big investigative articles about crime and fraud.
The USAID (United States Agency for International Development), which was suspended on the 13th of February 2025, was a tax funded organisation which supported economic growth, global health, and education; provided humanitarian aid in response to crises; and advancing US foreign policy goals through partnerships.
One of their partners was the OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project). They are an international organisation of investigative journalists. Their mission is to spread and strengthen investigative journalism across the world and expose crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account.
Partnership
The main claim in the article was that Knack was on the USAID payroll. It was implied that Knack wrote at least some of their articles to spread false or incomplete information, all while being paid by USAID to do so.
Also according to ‘tScheldt, USAID paid the OCCRP and their investigative journalists to fabricate articles promoting American woke-ideologies. Thus insinuating that the, at that time, American government used its money to vilify right wing figures worldwide.
The OCCRP had allegedly approached the Belgian newspaper Knack to establish a partnership in which Knack would receive information to base articles upon. This would supposedly create situations where false information was circulating thanks to Knack.
Satire
A quick e-mail to ‘tScheldt’s editorial room already cleared up the claim made by the title used in the article, Knack was in fact not on USAID’s payroll. They formulated the statement a bit more harsh to attract readers. “And of course, it is also satire”, stated ‘tScheldt’s contact.
It, however, is true that the OCCRP received funds from USAID and other American government institutions to conduct journalistic studies and research. Knack also confirmed that they have partnered with the OCCRP on multiple occasion. This means that some of Knacks articles have been at least partly funded by the US taxpayer.
Conclusion
In summary, the statement made in the title of ‘tScheldt’s article is mostly false. Knack was never on the USAID’s payroll and none of Knacks journalists were paid by the US government or any of their institutions to write any slander on right-wing figures. There are however (professional) ties between investigative journalists from Knack and the OCCRP and USAID.
RESEARCH | ARTICLE © Xander Borghgraef, Seppe Brants and Thibaut Schnaphauf, AP University of Applied Sciences, Antwerp, Belgium
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