Investigating Organized Crime and Corruption's Drew Sullivan, Co-Founder. Screenshot from YouTube

German Broadcaster Censors Documentary Exposing USAID-Funded Election Interference

German state broadcaster NDR has prohibited European Parliament member Petr Bystron from sharing a critical documentary it produced on the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)

Published: September 29, 2025, 1:17 pm

The OCCRP is a U.S.-funded media network accused of influencing elections in the U.S. and EU.

The censored 2023 film features OCCRP founder Drew Sullivan boasting, “We’ve probably been responsible for about five or six countries changing over from one government to another government.” Initially intended as a promotional piece, the documentary revealed OCCRP’s decades-long secret funding from USAID, which was cut back under the Trump administration.

NDR, once an OCCRP partner, shelved the film after Sullivan realized it would be an unflattering portrayal. The broadcaster ended ties in September 2023 amid a legal dispute. The scandal then emerged in December 2024 via French outlet Mediapart.

The issue stubbornly resurfaced amid revelations of €600,000 in EU funding OCCRP received post-European elections.

Bystron, targeted by OCCRP-linked German media outlets like Der Spiegel and Die Zeit during the campaign, leaked the documentary on social media after his election win.

NDR has threatened Bystron with €50,000 fines for distribution, aiming to suppress Sullivan’s admissions. OCCRP responded defensively on social platforms, with Sullivan labeling Bystron’s quotes of his own words as “attacks.” The organization claimed “independence” without evidence when questioned by Berliner Zeitung.

Sullivan’s controversial stance was further highlighted by his justification of the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk: “A moment of silence is not appropriate. He was no hero… He was a racist, an anti-democratic liar.”

This evidently exposes OCCRP’s bias, raising questions about foreign-funded media’s role in voting processes. NDR and OCCRP have not commented.

fwmstaff

Consider donating to support our work

Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

No comments.

By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.

Media Lies

The Sun has been found to be the main driver behind Earth's cliamte - and it's getting colder. Photo: iStockPhoto

The Sun Drives Earth’s Climate, Not Carbon Dioxide

Top Researchers Push Back Against Climate Lies."The correlation is as clear as day," explained the Israeli astrophysicist Nir Shaviv, who was hailed by the establishment, before his interview with Forbes was hastily deleted. What he says contradicts the climate narrative, which points to humans as responsible for Earth's climate. Shaviv firmly asserts that it is the sun that controls the climate, something that can be scientifically proven in many ways. Contrary to the popular belief, the sun's influence on Earth has, in recent years, caused unusually cold and rainy weather, a trend that solar researchers warn will worsen significantly in the coming decades. The sun has exhibited an unusually low activity since 2016, during Solar Cycle 24, which was the weakest in a century.

One map for the public, another man for the scientists. Both these global temperature maps covers the same period, April 2023. Both were created by the US state science organization NOAA and published in May, but for different audiences. The deceipt is clear. Images: NOAA

Climate Maps Manipulated to Mislead the Public

The US state science organization NOAA released in May very revealing climate maps that show the average temperature across the world in April compared to the climate normal. Not only do they markedly deviate from countless countries' official temperature data for April, showing the spring month was cooler than normal, but they also contradict each other even though they originate from exactly the same measurement data. The New Times here reveal how the figures are distorted and that there are two parallel maps, one for scientists and one grossly deceptive one shown to the public.

The truth behind AfD’s Russian ‘scandal’

INTERVIEWAlternative für Deutschland is under coordinated attack from the mainstream media for alleged Russian contacts. Manuel Ochsenreiter, a journalist often travelling to post Soviet republics, is especially targeted in the smear campaign. In an exclusive interview, he explains why.