Online smear campaigns against media aren’t new. Challenging it has never been more urgent
From Teka Teka by PumaPodcast
May 25, 2026 · 31 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the resurgence of online smear campaigns against journalists and media organizations, particularly in the context of foreign aid and sustainability.
The ‘foreign agent’ label against journalists is an old playbook – especially in Asia. But in 2025, it found new reach, spreading across major social media platforms and going virtually unchallenged. In the final part of our series on media funding, foreign aid, and sustainability, independent journalist Nica Hanopol speaks with fellow reporters Azreen Madzlan from Malaysiakini, John Hurt Allauigan from PressOnePH, and Francis Allan Angelo from Daily Guardian about their investigation of an online smear campaign against USAID and the media and civil society organizations it funded. Read the cross-border investigation here . Follow the companion reports here: DailyGuardian Philstar Malaysiakini PressOne.PH 🎧 Watch the video version on YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Nica Hanopol
Guests: Azreen Madzlan, John Hurt Allauigan, Francis Allan Angelo
Topics covered
- online smear campaigns
- media sustainability
- foreign aid
- journalism
- social media
- investigation
Keywords
- smear campaigns
- journalism
- foreign agents
- media funding
- social media
- Asia
- investigation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: USAID, Malaysiakini, PressOnePH, Daily Guardian
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