On 13 June 2024, Ukrainian data journalism website Texty.com.ua (also known as Texty) reported on pressure and discreditation that it had been subjected to by conservative circles in the United States: these followed the publication of an analysis article, in which Texty identified political, expert and media groups, as well as individual politicians, journalists and other public figures in the United States who publicly opposed American military aid for Ukraine. Texty also cited public declarations made by these figures and compared them to common Russian propaganda theses on Ukraine.
In response to the publication, several of those identified in Texty’s analysis smeared the outlet. Daniel McAdams, the director of the conservative Ron Paul Institute, claimed that the outlet had “attack[ed] hundreds of prominent American individuals and organizations as enemies” and asserted that “US tax dollars are being sent to Ukraine for US-backed Ukrainian organizations to make ‘hate lists’ and ‘kill lists’ of patriotic Americans”.
According to Texty, the publication by McAdams was then shared multiple times on X by conservative figures in the United States. In response to one of these posts, X owner Elon Musk demanded that Texty be placed on the US list of ” sanctioned terrorist organizations”. Prior to this, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who was also mentioned in Texty’s publication, said that she had been placed on a “state KILL list” as an “Enemy of the State”. The politician claimed that “Zelensky’s thug regime” was behind Texty’s publication, without providing evidence to back this claim.
Additionally, Republican senator J.D. Vance and Republican congressman Matt Gaetz sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding information on Texty’s funding from the US budget. A committee of the US House of Representatives also later voted to deprive Texty of funding. It was not clear what effect this decision had on the outlet: in its statement, Texty said that its investigation was fully funded by readers, and that the alleged links American conservatives attempted to establish between the outlet and the US State Department did not correspond to reality.
In response to the controversy, several Ukrainian media outlets and press freedom groups signed a statement “condemning the wave of pressure, slander and threats received by the independent Ukrainian outlet Texty”. The signatories of the text quoted Texty’s own statement, in which the outlet said that its investigation was meant to reveal facts about the US political, journalistic and expert community skeptical of providing aid to Ukraine, not to create lists of “enemies” of Ukraine whose freedom of expression should be restricted.
Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Informational Security, a state institution which is tasked with guaranteeing Ukraine’s informational security, also reported on the pressure which Texty was subjected to: in a statement, the institution said that the outlet’s publication had been carried at a “high professional level” and that it “greatly valued efforts by the team of Texty.org.ua to counter disinformation and propaganda”.