‘Totally false. Untrue’: Ben Stiller debunks Elon Musk-backed claim that USAID funded his Ukraine trip
Ben Stiller debunks false claims that USAID funded celebrity trips to Ukraine. The false claims are believed to have come from the Russian media, but Elon Musk reshared them and pushed their circulation on X.
Recently, Donald Trump and Musk abruptly announced their plans to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development. The department was founded in 1961 and has become one of the most significant distributors of civilian foreign aid. It was first targeted in Trump’s widespread freeze on foreign funds before Musk revealed his plans to shut down USAID entirely. Musk, a private citizen, put USAID security chiefs on administrative leave so that he and his unofficial department, DOGE, could access its secure systems and classified information without interference. Given his access to USAID’s systems, he should know precisely where the department’s funds have gone. However, there’s evidence that what he’s telling Americans about USAID’s funds is different from what he actually found.
For example, he and Trump began amplifying hysterical claims that USAID poured “BILLIONS OF DOLLARS” into Politico and left-leaning media. In reality, they were talking about a payment of $44,000 over two years for government subscriptions to the outlet. Meanwhile, Stiller recently debunked another one of Musk’s claims about USAID funds.
Ben Stiller debunks Elon Musk-backed USAID claim
Recently, further hysteria arose on X as MAGA supporters claimed that USAID was giving money to celebrities to go to Ukraine and boost President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s popularity. Musk amplified the claims by resharing a fake video to X. The video claimed to be from E! News. However, no such video exists on the E! News website. X user Bill McCarthy stated that he was informed by an E! News spokesperson that the video was fake and “did not originate from E! News.”
Stiller, one of the celebrities named in the video, also confirmed it was fake. The video claimed USAID poured $4 million into a sponsored trip from him. He denied the claims, reiterating that the trip was a “completely self-funded” and “humanitarian trip to Ukraine.” Stiller emphasized there were no USAID funds and “certainly no personal payments.” He also suggested that the video had originated from Russia, writing, “Totally false. Untrue. These are lies coming from Russian media.”
Musk hasn’t responded to the confirmation that the video was fabricated, and it’s unclear if he knew whether the video was fake or not. However, it would be strange if he didn’t know whether USAID was or wasn’t using significant funds to sponsor celebrity trips. He has had unrestricted access to USAID’s systems and buildings for days and claims to have evidence of such egregious waste that he must shut down the entire department.
It’s strange that he’s even using news from individuals and outlets outside of the government when he’s the one with insider information. He should be able to tell the American people 100% factual information on where USAID’s funds were going instead of having to spread fake, potentially Russian propaganda videos to convey information. If he has to rely on fake news to generate American support for dismantling government departments, it strongly suggests he cannot be trusted to make these major government decisions in good faith.
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