US ex-diplomat accuses USAID of coordinating foreign covert operations “It’s not an aid organisation”

Mike Benz, a former US State Department official and current Executive Director of the "Foundation for Freedom Online," has revealed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) does not provide aid but coordinates different foreign covert operations.

He made the statement during an episode of the Joe Rogan podcast, targeting the activities of the USAID and various US government agencies and programs, Caliber.Az reports.

Benz specifically criticised the USAID, saying, “It’s not an aid organisation. In reality, USAID develops activist organisations in foreign countries, created by the State Department to enhance its influence,” Benz asserted.

He went further to claim that USAID operates as a central hub for coordinating various covert overseas operations.

“USAID was established to coordinate different foreign covert operations. Its budget is $50 billion, which is larger than the budgets of the CIA and the State Department. This organization plays a key role in supporting the Pentagon, the State Department, and the intelligence community,” Benz emphasized.

Benz also criticized a federally funded “censorship centre” at Arizona State University, which studies online disinformation. He accused such initiatives of serving government interests under the guise of combating misinformation.

“The goal of these programs is to protect traditional news media and other ‘assets’ of the government system,” Benz said. He further explained, “They claim that undermining public trust in news media, the government, and science is an attack on democracy. If you question the reputation of The New York Times on social media, you could be branded as an enemy of democracy.”

Benz described how these centers operate through NGOs, universities, and private entities to monitor and suppress online content. “They use ‘censorship mercenaries’ to identify and remove information from the internet,” he concluded.

By Khagan Isayev