Texty.org.ua reports pressure and threats after releasing a study on American figures calling to end aid to Ukraine

The team of the Ukrainian data journalism agency Texty.org.ua reports facing pressure following the release of their study “Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists, Who and How They Advocate for Ending Support to Ukraine”.

The statement was posted to the media outlet's website.

The study, released on June 6, 2024, analyzed statements from the US officials, media figures, and experts who influence decision-making and future support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war. The study includes a table listing organizations and individuals who oppose Ukraine aid, their arguments, and their ties to Russian propaganda.

Texty.org.ua notes 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. 

Texty.org.ua refutes this allegation, explaining that Anatoliy Bondarenko volunteered as a data journalism trainer for this project in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

On the same day, the manipulative information shared on the Ron Paul Institute's website 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 outlet states: on June 11, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called their publication a list of enemies and claimed that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was behind it.

On June 12, FOX News reported that Senator J.D. Vance and Congressman Matt Gaetz called on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to send them information about the Ukrainian non-governmental organization Texty.org.ua by June 28. The letter's authors also urged the House Appropriations Committee to halt U.S. support for Texty.org.ua. On Tuesday, the committee approved such a resolution.

On June 13, Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, who was also mentioned in our research, responded to the call from a Republican congressman to strip us of any donor support by calling for our organization to be listed as a terrorist group.

The team views this campaign as an attack on freedom of speech and a display of chauvinism against the citizens of Ukraine, stressing their right to investigate the streams of false information produced about Ukraine.