{"text":[[{"start":9.85,"text":"The Trump administration is preparing to roll out a spate of grants in Europe and beyond to support Maga-aligned initiatives as it pursues a dramatic overhaul of US foreign aid priorities."}],[{"start":21.049999999999997,"text":"One of the core objectives of the grants is to bolster freedom of speech in the UK and Europe, which the administration claims is under attack. "}],[{"start":29.549999999999997,"text":"The proposed grants include $2mn to “counter censorship” stemming from EU regulations, including the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, according to a copy of a notice the state department sent to lawmakers, which was reviewed by the FT. "}],[{"start":44.599999999999994,"text":"The notification did not say whether the administration had identified a group to implement the project. The notice also details plans to provide $5mn to “develop a civilisational alliance” in Europe. "}],[{"start":57.55,"text":"Potential uses of the grant include initiatives to defend “freedom of expression, political competition and national sovereignty” on the continent. "}],[{"start":65.75,"text":"Other projects included in the notice were more in line with past US foreign aid efforts, including funds to research and counter efforts by authoritarian governments to silence their critics overseas. "}],[{"start":78.05,"text":"A second notification to US lawmakers included earmarked funding for Free Speech Union International, an umbrella organisation of the British group Free Speech Union founded by the Conservative peer Toby Young. "}],[{"start":92.35,"text":"The group is slated to receive $5mn, according to two people familiar with the matter. "}],[{"start":98.1,"text":"Young told the FT that the group had “expressed interest in applying for grant funding from the US state department” to “promote the right to freedom of expression” in the countries in which it works. Young said that the group had not yet submitted a formal application for the funds. "}],[{"start":113.94999999999999,"text":"While Free Speech Union’s website states it is non-partisan, critics contend that it has served as a champion for conservative and “anti-woke” causes. "}],[{"start":123.24999999999999,"text":"The Guardian first reported on the state department’s intentions to fund the group. "}],[{"start":128.35,"text":"Other proposed projects include $2mn to groups in eastern Europe and the Balkans that push back against perceived attempts to undermine western civilisational norms, according to a person familiar with the matter. "}],[{"start":140.75,"text":"The notification also includes support for efforts to counter judicial over-reach and censorship in Brazil, where the US has accused officials of persecuting the country’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally. "}],[{"start":153.6,"text":"It also outlines plans to provide $1mn to document human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in South Africa. The document does not make explicit reference to white South Africans, but the Trump administration has repeatedly sought to portray them as victims of government-backed discrimination and genocide. "}],[{"start":173.1,"text":"Contacted for comment on the slate of proposed funds, the state department said that “programmes are still in active deliberation and receipt of a grant is not guaranteed to any organisation that does not meet all requirements and standards for federal grants”."}],[{"start":188.54999999999998,"text":"The second notification also includes $7mn for a new British-American think-tank 878, co-founded by Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Conservative cabinet minister. Its website describes it as “dedicated to strengthening the civilisational partnership between the United Kingdom and the United States”."}],[{"start":208.39999999999998,"text":"However, a person familiar with the matter said that there are no such plans to fund 878, and that the document was prepared by a junior member of staff at the state department, to the surprise of some senior officials. "}],[{"start":222.09999999999997,"text":"The largest grant outlined in the proposal is $40mn for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, US-based non-profit dedicated to commemorating the victims of communist regimes. It was founded in 1993 by an act of Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton."}],[{"start":240.94999999999996,"text":"The state department noted that the group had previously received funding from the US government, including under the Biden administration. "}],[{"start":248.19999999999996,"text":"The proposed grant would represent a significant expansion for the organisation. Its most recent tax record lists its total assets as $12.1mn. "}],[{"start":258.04999999999995,"text":"News of the grant comes as Trump has sought to escalate his attacks on Democrats, seeking to paint them as communists ahead of midterm elections in November. "}],[{"start":275.15,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784515521_5551.mp3"}