US to Fund MAGA-Aligned Groups in Europe Amid Free Speech Disputes

The US government is preparing to fund MAGA-aligned think tanks and charities across Europe to promote what it calls “American values” and challenge perceived threats to free speech.

The initiative, first reported by the Financial Times on Thursday, Feb. 6, would channel US State Department grants to organizations linked to rightwing and populist movements in several European capitals as part of events marking the 250th anniversary of US independence later this year.

According to the FT, senior State Department official Sarah Rogers travelled to Europe in December to meet representatives of conservative think tanks and political groups, including figures from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, to discuss directing funding to counter what Washington views as censorship of online speech.

The initiative is expected to focus on projects in London, Paris, Berlin and Brussels and has already sparked concern among some US allies, particularly center-left governments, over what they see as American interference in domestic policy debates.

A US official told the FT the program was a variation on previous State Department funding efforts but would prioritize groups aligned with Washington’s free speech agenda. The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized European regulations such as the UK’s Online Safety Act and the EU’s Digital Services Act, portraying them as threats to American technology companies and freedom of expression.

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The push comes as the administration sharply scales back funding for democracy, human rights and good governance programs abroad, while increasingly framing Europe’s political trajectory as hostile to US interests.

Growing pressure on media at home

The overseas funding initiative also coincides with mounting pressure on independent media inside the United States.

Several hundred protesters rallied outside The Washington Post headquarters in Washington on Thursday after the newspaper announced sweeping layoffs that local media said affected about 300 of its roughly 800 journalists, including most of its overseas staff, according to AFP. 

Demonstrators accused the paper’s owner, billionaire Jeff Bezos, of undermining the outlet’s mission amid what they described as intensifying political pressure from the Trump administration. Protest signs referenced the Post’s slogan, “Democracy dies in darkness,” accusing Bezos of “turning off the lights.”

The layoffs follow years of verbal attacks by Trump against US media organizations, which he has repeatedly labelled “fake news,” as well as multiple lawsuits launched by his allies against journalists and news outlets.

Former Washington Post reporter Michael Brice-Saddler, who was among those laid off, warned that the cuts would weaken public accountability at a time of heightened hostility toward the press. Other journalists noted that the full impact of the job losses – particularly the closure of much of the paper’s international coverage – may not yet be clear.

Bezos, who has grown closer to Trump during the president’s second term, previously curtailed the newspaper’s liberal-leaning editorial page and blocked an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election, a move widely seen as breaking the traditional firewall between ownership and editorial independence.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the decision not to endorse Harris triggered a sharp drop in digital subscriptions and compounded financial losses at the paper.

European unease

In Europe, Washington’s proposed funding push has drawn a mixed response, with some rightwing figures welcoming the initiative while privately acknowledging political risks.

One senior Reform UK figure told the FT that the funding amounted to a State Department “slush fund” for MAGA-aligned initiatives, a characterization the department rejected, describing the program as a transparent and lawful use of public resources.

Polling suggests the Trump brand remains deeply unpopular across Europe. Only about 16 percent of the British public view Trump favorably, according to YouGov, while more than 80 percent hold an unfavorable opinion.

Despite the unease, Rogers has continued to publicly criticize European media and internet regulations, describing the UK’s Online Safety Act as “tyrannical and absurd” during a speech in London in December.

The layoffs at major US newsrooms come amid broader cuts under Trump to US-funded international broadcasters such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, prompting concerns that rivals like China and Russia are ready to fill the information void.