In early April 2025, social media accounts began circulating the claim that the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency uncovered that the federally funded U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit organization established by Congress in 1984 to promote international conflict resolution, was "funding multiple terrorist organizations."
The accusation spread widely on platforms including X, Facebook and Instagram. One X post (archived) with more than 185,000 views said: "DOGE uncovers US Institute of Peace funding multiple terrorist organizations, paying private accountants to handle outside money, creating slush funds and more with YOUR tax money."
DOGE uncovers US Institute of Peace funding multiple terrorist organizations, paying private accountants to handle outside money, creating slush funds and more with YOUR tax money
"Remember when the United States Institute for Peace managed to delay for one day DOGE coming in to… pic.twitter.com/lCOAZ8IEZT— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) April 3, 2025
The post also alleged the U.S. Institute of Peace deleted a terabyte of data linking the organization to payments made to leadership figures from the Taliban, the Iraqi government and al-Qaida. It ended by claiming DOGE had a record showing the nonprofit funded "those three terrorist organizations."
In short, the claim that the U.S. Institute of Peace funded terrorist organizations wasn't backed by credible evidence. In early April 2025, DOGE reported canceling several USIP contracts, including a $132,000 agreement with Mohammad Qasem Halimi, described as an "ex-Taliban member," and a $1.3 million contract with the Al Tadhamun Iraqi League for Youth. However, DOGE did not explicitly state that the nonprofit had funded terrorist organizations, nor did it provide any evidence to support that conclusion. It also offered no additional details or justification for the contract cancellations.
We reached out to DOGE (via the White House) and the U.S. Institute of Peace to request comment on the allegations and clarify the status and nature of the canceled contracts but did not receive replies.
Origin of the rumor
In March 2025, multiple news outlets reported that the Trump administration had fired most of the board and employees of the U.S. Institute of Peace, which had received congressional funding of $55 million for that fiscal year.
The rumor about the institute "funding multiple terrorist organizations" appeared to stem from a post (archived) published on DOGE's official X account on April 1. The post included a series of allegations about allegedly misused taxpayer money. Among other things, it claimed that USIP had awarded "$132,000 to Mohammad Qasem Halimi, an ex-Taliban member who was Afghanistan's former Chief of Protocol" and "$1,307,061 to the Al Tadhamun Iraqi League for Youth."
(@DOGE/X)
However, DOGE didn't provide evidence or official documentation to substantiate the existence of these contracts or the specified amounts, or to clarify their context. It also didn't document any details about the contracts' purpose, scope or duration.
Billionaire entrepreneur and X owner Elon Musk, the public face of DOGE, reposted another account's X post that said "DOGE was able to access the agency and discovered massive fraud, waste and abuse-including payments to Taliban and Iraq," — adding that "any government institution is most likely to be the opposite of its name."
Any government institution is most likely to be the opposite of its name https://t.co/hUfinp5Ujm
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2025
In a follow-up post, Musk accused USIP of attempting to "cover their crimes" by deleting "a terabyte of financial data":
They deleted a terabyte of financial data to cover their crimes, but they don't understand technology, so we recovered it ?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2025
However, he provided no evidence to support this allegation and didn't specify what the alleged crimes were.
Breaking down the allegations
According to USA.gov, a source of official U.S. government information, the U.S. Institute of Peace promoted "research, policy analysis, education, and training on international peace and conflict resolution in an effort to prevent and resolve violent conflicts, and to promote post-conflict stability."
Let's take a closer look at the two contracts DOGE said it canceled:
While it's true that Mohammad Qasem Halimi served as chief of protocol under the Taliban's first regime in the late 1990s, after that he held positions in Afghanistan's post-Taliban governments and worked on peace efforts. In a 2017 interview with German news broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Halimi acknowledged his past support for the Taliban, calling his time in the Foreign Office "the best time in my life." However, the article emphasized a subsequent shift in his thinking. After a year in U.S. custody, Halimi returned to Afghanistan in late 2003, two years after the Taliban regime fell, and held positions in the Justice, Finance and Education ministries under President Hamid Karzai. He was later appointed to the Peace Council to help negotiate with the Taliban. There is no evidence he is currently affiliated with any terrorist organization, nor have any official sanctions or criminal charges been reported against Halimi by U.S., Afghan or international authorities.
The second organization named by DOGE, the AI-Tadhamun Iraqi League for Youth, is an Iraqi nonprofit group focused on youth empowerment, human rights and civil society development. According to its website, it's an "independent NGO seeking to build peace, achieve sustainable development, defend human rights, empower women and youth, support their issues, build their capacities, and promote their civic values, human rights principles, and democratic values to reach their goals." We found
Overall, DOGE provided little information about the contracts it claimed to have canceled or the organizations involved.
For more context, see our explainer on DOGE's origins, legality, and purpose, and the collection of DOGE-related claims Snopes has investigated.