Meet Mike Benz, former US diplomat who says he has proof of USAID ‘interference’ in India and Bangladesh | World Information

New Delhi, Nov 06 (ANI): (File Picture) Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets this image congratulating Republican candidate Donald J. Trump on his victory within the US presidential election, on Wednesday. (ANI Picture)

Former US State Division official Mike Benz has alleged that the US has actively interfered within the home politics of a number of nations, together with India and Bangladesh, utilizing a mixture of media affect, social media censorship, and funding of opposition actions. Based on Benz, US-backed businesses have used democracy promotion as a canopy for influencing elections, destabilizing governments, and aligning overseas administrations with Washington’s strategic pursuits.

Claims of US Interference in India’s 2019 Normal Elections

Benz has alleged that components throughout the US overseas coverage institution, together with USAID, suppose tanks, and main expertise firms, manipulated on-line discourse to affect India’s 2019 basic elections towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. He claims that these teams labored collectively to form the election narrative by selling the concept Modi’s political success was largely the results of misinformation, creating the premise for widespread censorship.
Based on Benz, US-backed entities strategically framed Modi’s supporters as spreading pretend information on-line to justify intervention in India’s digital area. He claims that a number of organizations, together with these linked to USAID, labored with main worldwide media and digital forensics teams to create stories that described India as having a critical misinformation disaster. This, he argues, turned a pretext for suppressing pro-Modi narratives on social media platforms.
Benz claims that the US State Division exerted affect on main tech firms resembling Fb, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Twitter to curb pro-Modi content material. He asserts that WhatsApp, which is extensively used for political messaging in India, was particularly focused for restrictions. He factors to WhatsApp’s choice in January 2019 to restrict message forwarding in India as a deliberate transfer to curb BJP’s potential to succeed in voters, because the get together’s supporters relied closely on the platform for mobilization.
He additionally alleges that USAID and US-linked suppose tanks performed an lively function in these efforts by funding counter-misinformation packages that had been really designed to suppress nationalist actions just like the BJP. Benz claims that organizations such because the Atlantic Council and the International Engagement Middle pushed for larger content material moderation on social media below the justification of stopping misinformation, whereas in actuality, their focus was on decreasing the visibility of pro-Modi messaging.
Benz additional claims that the anti-Modi marketing campaign throughout the US authorities was carried out by factions throughout the State Division that operated independently of the Trump administration. Regardless of Trump’s sturdy relations with Modi, he means that entrenched bureaucratic components throughout the State Division, together with these overseeing cyber insurance policies, had been actively concerned in coordinating censorship efforts with Huge Tech. He asserts that officers throughout the International Engagement Middle and different US businesses suggested social media firms on content material moderation methods aimed toward limiting nationalist political actions worldwide, with Modi’s BJP continuously cited as a goal.
Whereas Benz doesn’t straight verify coordination between US-backed entities and Indian political teams, he claims that many counter-misinformation initiatives working inside India on the time had been possible funded by USAID or different US overseas coverage arms. He means that these organizations acquired monetary and strategic backing to problem BJP’s digital outreach efforts, additional influencing the political discourse forward of the elections.
Based on Benz, these alleged actions replicate a broader US technique of utilizing digital censorship, media narratives, and funding of civil society teams to form political outcomes in different international locations. If his claims are correct, they counsel that USAID and different US-backed organizations actively interfered in India’s democratic course of by working to limit Modi’s affect and enhance various narratives that aligned with Washington’s overseas coverage aims.

Allegations of US Destabilization Efforts in Bangladesh

New York, Sep 25 (ANI): Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus meets with US President Joe Biden on the margin of the UN Normal Meeting assembly, in New York on Tuesday. President Joe Biden expressed the US authorities’s full assist to the Bangladesh authorities. (ANI Picture)

Past India, Benz has claimed that the US additionally sought to affect Bangladesh’s political panorama, notably in efforts to weaken Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s authorities. He means that this was attributable to Bangladesh’s rising financial and strategic partnership with China, which US policymakers seen as a problem to their regional affect.
Based on leaked paperwork cited by Benz, US-funded organizations such because the Nationwide Endowment for Democracy and its associates allegedly labored on plans to destabilize the political scenario in Bangladesh. These methods included recruiting activists, mobilizing minority teams, and utilizing cultural and ethnic tensions to create divisions inside society.
One of many extra uncommon claims is that US taxpayer cash was used to fund Bangladeshi rap music that was designed to advertise anti-government sentiment. Benz means that these songs had been strategically focused at college students and youth activists to encourage mass protests.
He argues that this method aligns with earlier US-backed actions in different international locations, the place tender energy techniques, media affect, and funding of civil society teams have been used to create situations favorable for political change.

Who’s Mike Benz?

Benz is a former US State Division official who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Worldwide Communications and Info Know-how from 2020 to 2021. On this function, he was liable for formulating US coverage on cyber points and dealing intently with Huge Tech firms. Earlier than his authorities service, he labored as a White Home speechwriter for President Donald Trump, suggested on expertise issues, and practiced enterprise legislation for a number of years.
After leaving the federal government, Benz based the Basis for Freedom On-line (FFO), a non-profit devoted to exposing digital censorship and the manipulation of on-line narratives by governments and firms. By way of his work with FFO, he started investigating the function of USAID, the Nationwide Endowment for Democracy (NED), and different US-backed businesses in influencing political programs overseas. His analysis led him to uncover patterns of media manipulation, social media censorship, and funding of opposition teams below the guise of democracy promotion. His findings, primarily based on leaked paperwork and insider data, have positioned him as a whistleblower on how USAID and comparable entities allegedly interact in covert affect operations worldwide.

Broader US Affect in Different Nations

Benz locations these actions inside a broader sample of US affect operations worldwide. He claims that comparable techniques have been noticed in different international locations the place Washington sought to put in or keep a authorities that aligned with its overseas coverage targets. He factors to occasions resembling US involvement in Ukraine’s political upheaval, assist for opposition leaders in Venezuela, and interventions within the Center East and North Africa.
Based on Benz, these efforts usually contain a mixture of media narratives, digital censorship, monetary assist for opposition teams, and diplomatic stress. He means that these actions are sometimes justified below the pretext of democracy promotion, however in actuality, serve strategic pursuits resembling countering China’s affect, securing navy footholds, or guaranteeing financial entry.

Claims of Impartial Factions Working Inside US Overseas Coverage

One among Benz’s key claims is that these operations are sometimes carried out by factions throughout the US overseas coverage institution that function independently of the elected authorities. He alleges that Trump had little management over the rank-and-file officers within the State Division, a lot of whom pursued insurance policies that contradicted his administration’s stance.
He means that these factions use a community of suppose tanks, media partnerships, and social media platforms to execute their methods, typically with out direct oversight from political management. This, in line with Benz, explains why efforts towards Modi and Hasina had been pursued even when Trump had good relations with each leaders.

What Now?

If Benz’s claims are correct, they level to a sample of US overseas coverage that prioritizes strategic pursuits over the sovereignty of different nations. The allegations counsel that below the banner of democracy promotion and misinformation management, the US could also be influencing elections, destabilizing governments, and pushing for regime change when management doesn’t align with Washington’s targets. As geopolitical tensions proceed to rise, notably between the US and China, these alleged affect operations could turn into a extra vital think about shaping political landscapes in South Asia and past. The extent to which these claims might be additional substantiated stays to be seen, however they add to ongoing debates concerning the function of overseas intervention in home politics worldwide