Science journalism on the ropes worldwide as US aid cuts bite

"Their assignment was financially supported by InfoNile, a journalism network focusing on cross-border investigations in the Nile Basin, and Global Forest Watch, a data platform funded by the United Nations Environment Programme and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), among others. It's the kind of in-depth investigative work that far exceeds the reporting budgets of most research news publications, such as Nature or Science - and that attracts little attention from large media organizations and newspapers."

"Often, such reporting is made possible only because of grants given to journalists by private philanthropies or government donors. But with these grants drying up as philanthropic donors tighten their purse strings in the wake of US-led cuts to international development and health budgets, the ability of journalists such as Bizimana and Leku to hold power to account is diminishing."

"Marius Dragomir, a Romanian journalist and director of the Media and Journalism Research Center in Tallinn, a think tank and global research hub he founded in 2022, describes the funding threats to science journalism as "a disaster". He adds: "If you look at the geopolitical situation today, I think science is critical." There is a need for balanced reporting of science-related topics, but "a lot of that coverage is disappearing" at the exact moment it's needed, he explains."

In June 2025 a year-long investigation exposed an illegal trade smuggling timber from protected areas in the Congolese rainforest into neighbouring Burundi. Award-winning Burundian journalist Arthur Bizimana and collaborator Martin Leku from the Democratic Republic of the Congo travelled deep into the rainforest to gather material on impacts to this crucial carbon sink. The assignment received funding from InfoNile and Global Forest Watch. Such in-depth investigative work far exceeds typical reporting budgets and often depends on grants from private philanthropies or government donors. With philanthropic donors tightening purse strings after US-led cuts to international development and health budgets, grant-supported reporting faces shrinking support. Media researchers warn that reduced funding threatens balanced science-related coverage just when it is most needed.

Read at Nature