{"id":48953,"date":"2026-06-30T12:20:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T19:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=48953"},"modified":"2026-06-30T12:20:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T19:20:42","slug":"journalists-set-the-record-straight-after-musk-claims-not-a-single-child-died-from-doges-usaid-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/journalists-set-the-record-straight-after-musk-claims-not-a-single-child-died-from-doges-usaid-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalists Set the Record Straight After Musk Claims \u2018Not a Single\u2019 Child Died From DOGE\u2019s USAID Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"U.S.<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a state banquet hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome with me on a reporting trip,\u201d said New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. \u201cYou\u2019ll see the dying children themselves.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Prager<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jun 29, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Elon Musk<\/a> continues to claim that \u201cnot a single\u201d child has died as a result of his foreign aid cuts at the beginning of the second Trump administration<\/a>, journalists\u2014including ones who witnessed the consequences of the policy firsthand\u2014are correcting the record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since being called out by Rep. Ro Khanna<\/a> (D-Calif.), who cited<\/a> a journal\u2019s projection that 4.5 million children<\/a> under 5 could die by 2030 as a result of the Department of Government Efficiency\u2019s (DOGE<\/a>) sudden termination of most of the United States<\/a> Agency for International Development\u2019s (USAID<\/a>) programs\u2014including an 88% cut to children\u2019s health aid awards\u2014last year, the newly minted trillionaire<\/a> has repeatedly asserted<\/a> that the claim that he is responsible for the deaths of kids is \u201ca total lie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u2018Time<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Time to Sue This Liar\u2019: Trillionaire Elon Musk Threatens Ro Khanna for Warning of 4.5 Million Child Deaths From DOGE Cuts<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Elon<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Undeterred by Threats, Khanna Tells Musk to \u2018Testify, Under Oath, About What He Did\u2019 to USAID<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is not even a single dead child!\u201d Musk wrote<\/a> on his social media<\/a> platform X last Monday. \u201cIf there were, it would be worldwide headline news!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple journalists have been quick to respond that, in fact, the deaths of children and other people directly attributed to the termination of USAID programs by the agency he headed have been widely documented by major news outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndependent analyses estimate that your actions to dismantle USAID and drastically reduce lifesaving foreign aid have already killed 700,000 people,\u201d wrote Atul Gawande, the former USAID global health chief and longtime New Yorker writer, who cited models<\/a> from Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MIDNIGHT DEADLINE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The only way Common Dreams\u2019 people-powered media model can survive is with the support of readers like you. Will you become a sustaining monthly donor today to keep our progressive, nonprofit journalism alive?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

X post: https:\/\/x.com\/Atul_Gawande\/status\/2070205737104515401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2070205737104515401%7Ctwgr%5Ea36857197fbe72dafbf22de2041fb73f020ecf60%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fmusk-dead-children-usaid<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a lengthy thread posted on Thursday, Gawande cited nearly two-dozen examples in which news outlets named people who died as a direct result of cuts to health programs they relied upon, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n