4 things to know about USAID’s funding of media outlets
2. BBC's charity arm received 8% of its budget from US gov't
In response to funding cuts to USAID, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the British public broadcasting network, announced BBC’s international charity arm receives “about 8%” of its income from U.S. taxpayers.
The statement from BBC Media Action said the organization “supports local media around the world to deliver trusted information to people most in need,” but a U.K. government charity page registered to BBC Media Action says the organization “uses media and communication to reduce poverty and promote human rights.”
“A free press is essential to freedom and democracy — and 75% of countries around the world do not have a free press,” the organization stated. “BBC Media Action supports local media around the world to deliver trusted information to people most in need.”
Functioning as the BBC’s international charity, BBC Media Action says its operations “are completely separate from BBC News, and wholly reliant on our donors and supporters to carry out our work.”
