Opinion: Much ado about a list of people who don’t want to help Ukraine

A little-known independent Ukrainian media outfit named Texty.org.ua, which does excellent investigative reporting, has recently come under attack by prominent American conservatives.

Just what Texty did to warrant their displeasure is clear: It published a useful infographic and list of American organizations and individuals who are either pro-Russian or anti-Ukrainian. Just why anyone on that list should take umbrage and accuse Texty of unprofessional or criminal behavior is less clear.

The report in question appeared on June 6, titled, “Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists. The forces in the U.S. impeding aid to Ukraine and how they do it.” Using open sources and a transparent methodology, the authors identified 387 individuals and 76 organizations, including policymakers, political groups, media outlet, journalists, experts and think tanks.

Their key finding is especially useful: “A little more than half of the individuals in this sample are right-wing, about one in eight are left-wing, and the rest do not associate themselves with a specific ideological platform. The right-wing individuals are mostly politicians affiliated with the Trump wing of the Republican Party. Most of the left-wing individuals are anti-war activists and left-leaning parties that urge the government to stop funding Ukraine. Most of the media, journalists, experts, and think tanks in this list do not have a clear right or left bias.”

In addition, according to Texty, “50 individuals have collaborated with Russian media and government-funded initiatives during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (after February 24, 2022). Some have moved to Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine. Around 30 journalists and influencers work as reporters and contributors for Russian media and also serve as observers at illegal referendums in Russian-occupied territories.”

You can draw your own conclusions about these findings. Suffice to say, these sorts of rankings and assessments are business as usual. Countries are rated according to their level of corruption, ease of doing business, democracy, livability, happiness and freedom; policymakers are rated according to their liberal or conservative behavior; restaurants, hotels and airlines are rated according to their service; and professors are even rated by their students.

What Texty did was thus lacking in originality. It did what we all do on a daily basis. And yet, amazingly, this innocuous document provoked a storm of outrage.

Daniel McAdams, the executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, accused Texty of drawing up an “enemies list” and “smear[ing] American politicians, journalists, and social media influencers as tools of Russia.” Worse still, Texty had been an “implementing partner” from 2016 to 2022 of the Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services ( TAPAS ) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and UK Aid.

McAdams implies that Texty is therefore politically suspect, and he might have a point, were it not for the inconvenient fact that the TAPAS project overlapped ran straight through President Donald Trump’s term in office. Moreover, other implementing partners included the East Europe Foundation, the Kyiv School of Economics, Transparency International Ukraine, Social Boost and the Open Data Institute.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) followed with the bizarre accusation that “Zelensky’s thug regime has deemed me an Enemy of the State, and for good reason. … Not only am I a Ukrainian Enemy of the State, but I’m banned from Russia. Zelensky is a thug who doesn’t deserve a single American tax dollar. All they care about is taking our money and our weapons. Then they put elected members of Congress like me on their state KILL list.”

In terms of overkill, however, Elon Musk gets first prize. He suggested on X that Texty be “added to the list of sanctioned terrorist organizations.”

Fortunately, Texty responded calmly to these charges: “We do not label the subjects of this research as enemies of Ukraine, nor do we dispute or condemn their right to freedom of expression. We merely state the fact that they oppose support for Ukraine and that many of their arguments resonate with Russian propaganda narratives about Ukraine. We value and respect freedom of speech, a prerequisite for a democratic society. We reserve the right to present evidence, state facts, debunk false arguments, and compare them with those propagated by Russian propaganda worldwide.”

The mind boggles at these overreactions. After all, it’s not as if the people included in the Texty study fear being outed for secretly propounding pro-Russian views which, if made public, would cause them harm. Quite the contrary. As Greene openly states, they’re often proud of being anti-Ukrainian and they say so very publicly.

Being anti-Ukrainian or pro-Russian is a conscious choice. Texty disagrees with it, but McAdams, Greene and Musk are perfectly entitled to their views in a liberal society, which the U.S. still is. Texty is entitled to its views as well.

Moreover, McAdams and Greene are prominent political figures; Musk is a multibillionaire. Texty is just some obscure Ukrainian outfit. It’s like being outraged by an article in a student-run campus newspaper.

So, what’s the problem? Why the universal hypersensitivity?

The answer that comes to mind was hinted at by McAdams: In daring to characterize the people on the list as pro-Russian (and hence anti-American?), Texty must be a front for the Democrats and the Biden administration. And in today’s hyperpolarized America, even the slightest hint of politically motivated criticism warrants bringing out the artillery against the sparrows.

The Texty Affair is thus not about Texty. It’s about MAGA America and its dysfunctional and paranoid political culture.

Alexander J. Motyl is a professor of political science at Rutgers University-Newark. A specialist on Ukraine, Russia and the USSR, and on nationalism, revolutions, empires and theory, he is the author of 10 books of nonfiction, as well as “ Imperial Ends : The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires” and “ Why Empires Reemerge : Imperial Collapse and Imperial Revival in Comparative Perspective.”

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