A New Zealand-based group has lost a US Embassy grant after refusing to let American officials vet its course on disinformation for alignment with US foreign policy.
Dark Times Academy, which was set to train Pacific Island journalists, declined requests to hand over course materials and a participant list—moves that co-founder Mandy Henk said would have compromised academic independence and breached New Zealand privacy laws.
The US Embassy had originally awarded the grant under the previous administration, intending to help Pacific media combat misinformation. However, Henk says the new administration wanted to ensure the programme “aligned with US foreign policy priorities”—priorities she sarcastically summarised as “terrorising the people of Gaza, annexing Canada, invading Greenland, and bullying Panama.”
When Dark Times Academy refused to comply, discussions with the embassy led to the grant being “terminated by mutual agreement.” Despite losing US funding, the programme, called A Bit Sus, will still proceed with enrolled journalists.
Editor’s note: Like him or not, this shows how quickly some of President Trump’s policies are being enacted. Byron Clark is an advocate of several “progressive” stances.
Centrist Ltd.