President Donald Trump's recent executive order suspending U.S. financial aid to foreign organizations has sparked a battle in journalism in the Dominican Republic.
Some commentators and digital media outlets have accused journalists of receiving thousands of dollars from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), while radio hosts and television presenters have demanded the publication of lists of beneficiaries.
The controversy reflects how political narratives in the United States resonate in Latin America, and can fuel disinformation campaigns and efforts to discredit journalists. Even leaders of Latin American countries have accused media and journalists that accepted financial support from U.S.-backed organizations as being less independent.
The rhetoric that USAID operates as a network of corruption and "woke" propaganda has been promoted by U.S. officials and has found fertile ground in countries like the Dominican Republic – even though it’s been debunked by journalists.
“These people who now say they are anti-USAID, anti-United States, are the most conservative people in Dominican society,” Adalberto Grullón Morillo, a professor at the Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in Santiago, told LatAm Journalism Review (LJR). “And they have found great support from the new United States government.”
The journalists attacked on social media have been accused of being anti-nationalist, of defending an LGBTI agenda and of supporting the “Haitian invasion.” They have publicly denied having received money from USAID.
“What we all have in common is that we provide a critical voice and that we stand for human rights, women’s rights or migrants’ rights,” Altagracia Salaza, one of the attacked journalists, told LJR.
In early February, Dominican commentator Johnny Arrendel accused at least a half-dozen journalists, saying they received monthly payments and acted as special agents for USAID. He later recanted his statements and called them a “serious mistake.”
Yet, online attacks against the journalists followed his initial statements. They were not only from bots but also from digital media accounts.
"Rat," "Traitor," "Sellout," "How much did you get paid?" were some of the messages they received. Hashtags such as #marcorubio, #periodistasdominicanosenunsaid, and #SehundeElGobiernoDelCambio (The government of change is sinking) were used to amplify the attacks.
According to Diario Libre, journalists accumulated thousands of mentions on X and dozens on YouTube.
“I must confess the information I shared was provided by a source I had previously trusted, but this time I did not rigorously verify it, and therefore, it lacks proper substantiation,” Arrendel said in a statement nine days after his first publication. “My serious mistake was largely a result of the nationalist fervor driven by the political climate.”
He also deleted all the posts in which he mentioned the journalists.
LJR contacted Arrendel, but he declined to comment.
Radio and television programs in the Dominican Republic were filled with debates about the controversy.
“Arrendel was forced to apologize,” “Defamation against journalists,” and “Should journalists accused in the USAID case file lawsuits?” were some of the topics discussed on these programs.
“In the country there is a very strong phenomenon of an invasion of people who participate in the media without being journalists,” Grullón Morillo said. “They will say they are communicators or announcers, but some are businessmen, lawyers and even leaders of the highest levels of political parties. They speak every day in the media and therefore consider themselves journalists.”
In the Dominican Republic, it is not mandatory to be a member of a professional association or have a university degree in journalism to practice the profession.
The journalists attacked in these campaigns have publicly stated that the motive behind these accusations is political.
“Journalists who usually take a critical stance are attacked, even by fellow journalists who do not take such clear positions on social issues,” journalist Angely Moreno, who was also a victim of attacks on social media, told LJR.
Most of the journalists targeted by the financing accusations have been practicing for decades and openly supported what is known as La Marcha Verde, a social movement in 2017 against corruption and impunity in the Dominican Republic.
“We were voices against corruption, fundamentally in the administration of Danilo Medina [of the Dominican Liberation Party who served from 2012-2020],” Salazar said.
The Dominican College of Journalists and the National Union of Press Workers have expressed their support for the journalists affected .
They also urged media professionals not to give credibility to allegations without proper verification, warning that doing so could violate the law, the constitution and the Dominican Journalism Code of Ethics.
According to the journalists interviewed for this article, this is not the first time they have received attacks on social media.
“In 2021, I was trending #1 on Twitter for 13 days starting Oct. 28 with a similar campaign. Later, I obtained a social media analysis that confirmed I was attacked by bots from more than 26 countries,” Moreno said. “The reasons have always been the same: positions on political issues, social criticism, or my ideas about the country I believe we should have.”
Women journalists are not only criticized for their work but also subjected to attacks against their families, sexuality and physical appearance. For example, Moreno was accused of using USAID funds for cosmetic surgery.
“You can lower your profile to prevent them from manipulating everything you do or say. For example, I don't post much on Twitter [X] anymore,” Salazar said. “But it seems like a structured strategy. The bots and others who rode the wave of attacks managed to keep the topic active throughout February.”
