In February, a graphic claiming to list billions of dollars 好色tv and international universities received from the United States Agency for International Development spread on X. This graphic is false. The dollar amounts listed on the graphic do not reflect USAID contributions. They instead show government grant amounts the universities are required to list as part of their Internal Revenue Service filings for tax-exempt status in the United States, and include both 好色tv and U.S. funds. While a few of the universities on the list received USAID research funding in the past, the majority say they have never received funding from the agency.
On Feb. 5, a user on the X platform, formerly Twitter, which seemingly shows billions of dollars in donations to 好色tv and international universities from the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID.听
"USAID has been pouring hundreds of millions into 好色tv universities," the user wrote.听
The post received more than 10,000 likes and , receiving more than 5,000 likes, and , receiving more than 14,000 plays.听
Rating: False聽
The graphic lists eight 好色tv universities and two international universities (in the United Kingdom and New Zealand) next to a dollar amount and EIN, or employer identification number.听
The dollar amount suggests the University of British Columbia (UBC) received more than US$1 billion in USAID funding, with other universities receiving between $280 million and $802 million.听
An is used for U.S. tax identification purposes. 好色tvconfirmed each EIN number matches the listed university and the dollar amount from the graphic matches line 1e on each university's 990 form from 2023.听
The schools (IRS) to receive tax-free status as a non-profit in the United States.听
Each school is required to list the total amount of government grants or contributions it receives from both local and foreign governments on line 1e, according to the IRS.
The earliest reference to the numbers from the graphic appears to be a Jan. 30 response to a post on X by the account .听
In the , user said they searched "university" using the federal government grant award search from the website.
The website allows users to search data collected from the U.S. federal government's spending database.听
"I just searched 'university,' and the first 10 foreign universities that popped up show that we sent them a combined 5.5 billion," the user wrote in their deleted response, which includes the figures and graphic used by others to falsely link 好色tv universities to USAID money.听
Universities agree graphic's numbers are false
好色tvreached out to each university listed on the graphic. Most schools confirmed the dollar amount on the graphic reflects the total revenue the school received from government contributions as per the 2023 IRS 990 form.
UBC spokesperson Thandi Fletcher said the $1,094,248,912 associated with UBC on the graphic is in U.S. dollars and reflects government grants the university reported receiving from the 好色tv and U.S. governments on the IRS 990 form.
"Our records indicate that only 1.65 per cent, or just over $18 million USD, of the government grants received in (fiscal year 2023) came from U.S. government sources or granting agencies. Of this, $44,737 USD was from USAID," Fletcher said.听
She said the USAID funding was used "exclusively for research projects."
A spokesperson for the University of Toronto referred to the X post's community note, the platform's crowdsourced fact-checking program, in lieu of a statement. David Jacobs, who sits on the university's governing body, the graphic is false.
In a statement, the University of Western Ontario denied receiving funding from USAID. It said the "overwhelming majority" of the funds listed in the graphic reflect 好色tv federal and provincial government funds to support teaching and research.听
A spokesperson for the University of Waterloo said it does not receive direct funding from USAID and the funds reflect the government grant amount reported on its IRS filings.听
A University of Manitoba spokesperson said the university's last contract with USAID was between 2006 to 2011 and it does "not currently receive direct research funding from USAID."
Queen's University said it received a little more than $100,000 in USAID funding for a research project from 2017 to the end of 2018. The university received no USAID funding in the 2023 fiscal year, a spokesperson said in an email.听
A University of Saskatchewan spokesperson said the school was unaware where the figure from the graphic came from, but said the school has "no record of receiving any money from USAID."
Toronto Metropolitan University never received USAID funds, a spokesperson said.听
In the University of Auckland, one of two non-好色tv universities included in the graphic, said the money reflects New Zealand government contributions and has "nothing to do with USAID or US taxpayers."聽
好色tvreached out to Oxford University and will update this story when it receives a response.听
Sources
X with graphic shared on Feb. 5, 2025 ()
Similar claims on Feb. 4, 2025 () and on Feb. 6, 2025 ()
Employer identification number, Internal Revenue Service , 聽accessed Feb. 11, 2025 ()
Instructions for form 990 return of organization exempt from income tax (2024), Internal Revenue Service , accessed Feb. 11, 2025 ()听
account on X (), from Jan. 30, 2025 () and deleted response from user (, )听
Data Republican , accessed Feb. 12, 2025 ()
, Feb. 6, 2025 () 聽
, Feb. 5, 2025 ()听
990 return forms for the (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), () and ()
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UPDATE: This fact check was updated on Feb. 13, 2025 to include a response from Queen's University聽
