Filipino troops unload USAID emergency supplies during relief operations for areas affected by Typhoon Kristine in 2024. US Embassy in the Philippines handout photo

Founded to provide foreign aid and support international development, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) operated in more than 100 countries and had a budget of $50 billion in 2023, according to the most recent figures.

But not even a month into his second term in the White House, Donald Trump now plans to cut its workforce from 10,000 employees to fewer than 300.

The overhaul has been accompanied by false claims about an organization Trump's team believes has been wasting US taxpayers' money.

DW Fact Check has debunked some of these claims.

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'Life or death consequences for millions': NGOs stunned by US aid freeze

Hollywood stars paid by USAID?

Claim: USAID sponsored celebrity trips to Ukraine, including visits by Hollywood stars Ben Stiller and Angelina Jolie, according to several social media posts, including this video that was reposted by X owner Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr., the son of the US president.

DW fact check: False

The video bears the logo of E! News, an entertainment site owned by NBC Universal. In the video, a female voice explains the goal of those USAID-funded trips was to increase the popularity of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, especially in the US.

An E! News spokesperson, however, told French news agency AFP that the video is not...

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