{"id":13289,"date":"2025-03-16T12:06:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T12:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/why-the-arabic-sesame-street-and-other-cuts-are-not-really-about-fraud\/"},"modified":"2025-03-16T12:06:04","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T12:06:04","slug":"why-the-arabic-sesame-street-and-other-cuts-are-not-really-about-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/why-the-arabic-sesame-street-and-other-cuts-are-not-really-about-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Arabic \u2018Sesame Street\u2019 and Other Cuts Are Not Really About Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When President Trump talks about the \u201chundreds of billions of dollars of fraud\u201d that Elon Musk\u2019s cost-cutting team has uncovered in the federal government, he sometimes singles out one program with particular scorn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cTwenty million dollars for the Arab \u2018Sesame Street\u2019 in the Middle East,\u201d the president <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/04\/us\/politics\/transcript-trump-speech-congress.html\" title=\"\">told a joint session<\/a> of Congress this month, as he laid out the case for a smaller, more efficient government free of what Republicans call \u201cwoke\u201d ideology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the Arabic-language version of \u201cSesame Street\u201d was not just the purview of progressives. It has been supported, in its various iterations over the years, by members of both parties, including Andrew S. Natsios, a conservative Republican who led the U.S. Agency for International Development under President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe biggest weapon against Al Qaeda and Islamic extremism is \u2018Sesame Street,\u2019\u201d Mr. Natsios said in an interview, recounting how successful the show had been in Egypt when the American government helped fund it during his term in office. Children would watch the show in the morning before breakfast, he said, helping them adopt more positive attitudes toward the West.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The show is a textbook case of what is known as soft power, the kind of noncoercive, long-term diplomacy designed to build good will and influence around the world, a strategy Mr. Trump has largely cast aside in favor of more <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/02\/us\/politics\/trump-tariffs-migrants-power.html\" title=\"\">transactional, strong-arm<\/a> tactics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk slash their way through the federal work force, their claims of fraud are often differences of opinion about policy \u2014 not examples of criminal wrongdoing or corruption.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They have falsely accused media companies, for example, of taking payoffs from Democratic administrations, when the payments in question were subscriptions purchased by both Republican and Democratic administrations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They have exaggerated long-known issues with Social Security data, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/19\/upshot\/social-security-fraud-claim-musk.html\" title=\"\">falsely claiming<\/a> that tens of millions of dead people might be receiving benefits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And they have described programs aimed at helping lift the world\u2019s poor out of poverty \u2014 such as one that bolstered female entrepreneurs or another that helped countries create tourism industries \u2014 as corrupt junkets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cA lot of the things they\u2019re criticizing are ridiculous,\u201d Mr. Natsios said. \u201cWhat we would do is we find small businesses. Let\u2019s say they\u2019re making dresses in Ukraine that are of high quality enough that they could sell in the European market, and we take the women to a trade show in the U.S. or in Paris to help grow their business. This is one of the things that was listed as some kind of a junket.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many Americans support efforts to shrink the size of government and cut spending, and disagree with the idea that the United States should provide aid to fight disease and poverty overseas. Mr. Musk says his Department of Government Efficiency has eliminated wasteful spending on things like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DOGE\/status\/1897464303428755692\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">unneeded software<\/a>, unused <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DOGE\/status\/1896749629200343095\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Zoom licenses<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DOGE\/status\/1894561774147346776\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">underused leases<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the Trump administration also insists it is uncovering something more sinister \u2014 widespread fraud and \u201ckickbacks\u201d \u2014 as it tries to justify across-the-board cuts. In his address to Congress, Mr. Trump encouraged Attorney General Pam Bondi to look for such cases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re searching right now,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cIn fact, Pam, good luck. Good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Asked whether the Trump administration had found specific cases of fraud, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, argued that perceived waste essentially amounted to fraud.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI think all Americans would agree that funding mastectomies in Mozambique is not something that the American people should be funding,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s fraudulent that the American government has been ripping off taxpayers in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Leavitt appeared to be referring to U.S.A.I.D.\u2019s decades-long work with Mozambique\u2019s government to make health care accessible to the country\u2019s rural poor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On social media, DOGE did accuse one company of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DOGE\/status\/1894863651007537343\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">potential wrongdoing<\/a>. Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USAEdMartin\/status\/1894880235037847730\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">he was investigating<\/a> a firm that was paid to house unaccompanied migrant children at an empty Texas facility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The firm, Endeavors, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/endeavors.org\/uncategorized\/standing-together-in-service-celebrating-our-impact\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">denied the allegations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFirst and foremost, let me be clear: Any claims of corruption or mismanagement are completely baseless,\u201d Chip Fulghum, the firm\u2019s chief executive, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, the director of government affairs at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog that examines Pentagon contracts, said the Trump administration has not uncovered significant new cases of fraud.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey\u2019re just going after programs that are politically advantageous to them in some way,\u201d Mr. Hedtler-Gaudette said. He added: \u201cThe problem with waste is, that\u2019s very much an eye of the beholder. One person\u2019s waste is another person\u2019s critical investment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Asked for evidence to support its claims of uncovering fraud and abuse, the Trump administration provided several lists to The New York Times:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"css-1le37cb ez3869y0\">\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">One contained projects that could be described as wasteful spending depending on one\u2019s political views, but not fraud. The list included foreign aid programs that the Trump administration does not believe should receive American dollars; others that promoted environmental causes; and contracts related to diversity and inclusion goals.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Another was a compilation of studies from the Government Accountability Office, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/fact-sheets\/fiscal-year-2024-improper-payments-fact-sheet\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services<\/a> and other federal sources that track improper payments and wasteful government practices. One G.A.O. study, for instance, estimated that the federal government loses $233 billion to $521 billion annually to fraud. The studies were not conducted by Mr. Musk, his cost-cutting team or the Trump administration. They were findings from the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">A third was a database of canceled contracts and other cuts that Mr. Musk and his DOGE team claim have saved the federal government roughly $115 billion. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/21\/upshot\/doge-musk-trump-errors.html\" title=\"\">A New York Times review<\/a> of Mr. Musk\u2019s data revealed accounting errors, incorrect assumptions, outdated data and other mistakes. While the DOGE team has made billions of dollars in cuts, its database does not include the specific allegations of criminal fraud or \u201ckickbacks\u201d that Mr. Trump has described.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Whenever large amounts of money change hands, there is a significant risk of fraud. In 2023, for instance, the Justice Department <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/23\/business\/pandemic-relief-fraud-justice-department.html\" title=\"\">said it had charged<\/a> more than 3,000 defendants for offenses related to pandemic fraud and seized more than $1.4 billion in relief funds. Those investigations were aided by inspectors general trained in finding abuse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But while the Trump administration says it is cracking down on fraud, it has fired<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>nearly 20 inspectors general whose mission was to uncover fraud, waste and abuse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One of them, Michael J. Missal, who spent nine years as inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said that his team had saved the government over $45 billion. He noted that they uncovered evidence that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ndwv\/pr\/former-va-hospital-nursing-assistant-sentenced-seven-consecutive-life-sentences\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">led to the conviction of a serial murderer.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey don\u2019t want independent people running these offices, because we typically have hard-hitting reports that may not make the administration look favorable,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they found fraud, there should be criminal cases. I haven\u2019t seen any criminal case.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Missal <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/12\/us\/politics\/inspectors-general-trump-lawsuit.html\" title=\"\">is suing<\/a> to get his job back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As for the Arabic-language \u201cSesame Street,\u201d the Trump administration\u2019s cuts mean that an educational companion program to the show and a translation into a local dialect will be discontinued in Iraq. The eliminated funding had provided books, classroom materials and training for teachers in Iraq to use in early childhood development centers, according to the Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that makes the educational program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the main version of the show, called \u201cAhlan Simsim,\u201d will continue to air in the Middle East and North Africa. The MacArthur Foundation, a charitable foundation, in partnership with The International Rescue Committee, an aid group, have funded the program since 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/16\/us\/politics\/doge-sesame-street-fraud.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When President Trump talks about the \u201chundreds of billions of dollars of fraud\u201d that Elon Musk\u2019s cost-cutting team has uncovered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[114,511,337,407,2717,288,1224,110,510,113,983,111],"class_list":["post-13289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us","tag-donald-j","tag-elon","tag-federal-aid-us","tag-foreign-aid","tag-frauds-and-swindling","tag-government-contracts-and-procurement","tag-government-efficiency-department-us","tag-inspectors-general","tag-musk","tag-trump","tag-united-states-agency-for-international-development","tag-united-states-politics-and-government"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why the Arabic \u2018Sesame Street\u2019 and Other Cuts Are Not Really 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