Scandal: EU Paid Over $600,000 to USAID Media Network Accused of Election Manipulation Right After EU Vote | The Gateway Pundit | by Guest Contributor

The OCCRP network that is funded by US taxpayers was used to attack EU-critical politicians as “Moscow agents” before the 2024 elections. OCCRP paid over €600,000 to a partisan journalists’ network immediately following the EU elections. The organization also has ties to Soros.

A bombshell report from Berliner Zeitung has revealed that Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission wired over €604,000 to the controversial media network OCCRP immediately after the 2024 EU elections. The revelation came in response to a parliamentary inquiry by AfD MEP Petr Bystron.

The OCCRP (“Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project”) includes German establishment outlets such as Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung. These are the very same outlets that ran smear campaigns against conservative and EU-skeptical politicians in the run-up to the election. Critics say the payment looks less like support for “investigative journalism” and more like a payoff for political services rendered.

OCCRP’s Track Record: Targeting Populists

This is not the first time OCCRP-linked media have interfered in European elections. In 2019, Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung detonated the infamous “Ibiza Affair,” toppling Austria’s successful FPÖ-government and driving the party’s EU election results down from 26% in the polls to just 17.2% at the ballot box.

In 2024, the same outlets again spearheaded attacks – this time together with Czech partner Denik N – falsely accusing politicians from six European countries of being “Moscow’s agents” because they gave interviews to Voice of Europe, a Prague-based news site critical of Zelensky’s regime.

Among those smeared were former Czech President Václav Klaus, ex-Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, and AfD candidate Petr Bystron. None were ever charged with any crime, yet OCCRP media blasted the claims across Europe. Bystron endured 23 house raids based solely on OCCRP’s “reporting.” After more than a year, not a single shred of evidence has been found.

NATO Narrative and Media Propaganda

The attacks mirrored findings by U.S. investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, who documented how NATO-linked networks financed smear campaigns to delegitimize critics of the Ukraine war. Rather than investigate, OCCRP outlets dutifully repeated the talking points – unverified, uncritical, and amplified millions of times.

Bought and Paid For

According to French outlet Mediapart, OCCRP has taken in nearly $50 million from U.S. sources, with funders holding veto rights over staff appointments and dictating yearly editorial agendas. The Panama Papers, for example, conveniently wiped out competition to U.S. tax haven Delaware. That wasn’t independent journalism – it was paid political warfare.

OCCRP and Trump’s Impeachment

The network even played a role in the 2019 impeachment drive against President Donald Trump, peddling CIA-fed stories that he withheld Ukraine aid. In reality, Trump was pressing Ukraine to investigate the Biden family’s corruption. One of Trump’s first moves after his reelection was to cut OCCRP’s funding from USAID.

Why Did von der Leyen Pay?

The question now is why Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission wired over half a million euros of taxpayer money to this network immediately after an EU election – especially when OCCRP’s record is riddled with election interference, propaganda campaigns, and ties to U.S. intelligence-linked funding.

As Berliner Zeitung concludes, this could be shaping up to be the biggest media scandal in postwar Europe.

Here is the Press Release:

EXCLUSIVE | EU paid €600,000 to journalists’ network immediately following the EU elections

Schriftliche Frage im Monat April 2025 Nr. 04-0032

Current Status:

The EU Commission paid exactly €604,269 to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) journalists’ network immediately after the 2024 European elections. This is according to a response from the EU Commission to AfD MP Petr Bystron.

According to the Research Center for Security and Geopolitical Studies, the U.S. government provides approximately half of OCCRP’s budget through entities like the Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

In Germany, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, among others, belong to the OCCRP network. Officially, the funds are intended to “promote investigative journalism.”

Critics, however, see this as partisanship, as OCCRP media outlets portrayed EU-critical politicians as alleged “Moscow agents” before the election without any evidence. Politicians in six EU countries were affected. AfD candidate Bystron was also targeted. Citing the media reports, the Munich public prosecutor’s office conducted 23 searches of his home – so far without any results. However, the reporting influenced the election results and thus the composition of the European Parliament. The affected parties lost valuable percentages, and some politicians, such as Dutchman Thierry Baudet, even lost their seats in the European Parliament.

Doubts about the independence of the OCCRP have long existed. According to revelations by Mediapart, the network received almost $50 million from the US over the years, partly through direct influence on personnel and policy decisions. Furthermore, in 2019, OCCRP was involved in the campaign that triggered impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. In 2019, the Austrian government, with the participation of the FPÖ, collapsed following the “Ibiza Affair” launched by OCCRP media. The FPÖ fell from 26% in the polls to just 17.2% in the final election results.

The payments now raise questions: Why is the EU funding a network that has been involved in election interference and political campaigns in the past?

Position

MEP Petr Bystron:

“The biggest media scandal in post-war history is brewing here. The EU funds were allegedly used to “support investigative journalism.” This is a mockery, because the OCCRP media did exactly the opposite – they spread negative information about EU-critical politicians without verification and completely uncritically – in a campaign-like manner.

The OCCRP media manipulated the last two EU elections with massive campaigns. Their reporting influenced election results, severely damaged EU-critical politicians, and overthrew governments. The goal was always to eliminate EU-critical politicians.”

September 9, 2025

For inquiries: Bernadette Conrads | [email protected]