Pressure on freedom of speech: StratCom comments on calls to defund Texty.org.ua

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security (StratCom) considers calls to defund Texty.org.ua and proposals to recognize the media outlet as a "terrorist organization" constitute pressure on freedom of speech and an attack on independent journalism, according to the statement by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

StratCom remarks that the organization has been contributing to the evolution of data journalism since 2010 and has proven itself as a thorough and objective source of information.

"We believe that the study 'Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists, Who and How They Advocate for Ending Support to Ukraine' is of high quality and indeed contains no manipulation, value judgments, hate speech, etc. Therefore, the accusations leveled at the journalists are manipulative and unfair," StratCom added.

Earlier, Texty.org.ua reported facing pressure following the release of their study “Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists, Who and How They Advocate for Ending Support to Ukraine”. They noted that all published data regarding individuals and organizations were taken from open sources, including official ones. The team does not label the subjects of this research as enemies of Ukraine, nor does it dispute or condemn their right to freedom of expression. They merely state the fact that they oppose support for Ukraine.

As the team remarks, after the publication of this study, the director of the Ron Paul Institute, Daniel McAdams, initially posted on social media platform X, then wrote an article on the Institute's website claiming that Texty.org.ua, funded by the U.S. government, created a "hate list" of American citizens. In this article, as evidence of our funding by the U.S. government, it is mentioned that one of our co-founders participated in the U.S. government project TechCAMP. 

Following the Ron Paul Institute's publication, the message was disseminated on social media platform X by other conservative outlets, ultra-right and left-wing American activists, attacking both the Texty editorial team and the authors of the article personally.

The Media Movement called on the US Congress and Senate:

• To cease the pressure on Texty.org.ua and not exploit Ukrainian media for internal American political competition in the run-up to the upcoming elections in the USA.
• To demonstrate that you truly support the principles of freedom of speech and preparedness to defend independent media by revoking decisions that could limit the freedom of expression of the independent Ukrainian press.
• To conduct own investigation and determine whether the facts outlined in the Texty.org.ua publication  do  demonstrate the dissemination of narratives resonant to aggressive Kremlin propaganda in the United States.

On June 14, the US Embassy in Ukraine said that the State Department was not involved in the Texty publication “Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists, Who and How They Advocate for Ending Support to Ukraine”.