President Donald Trump and Elon Musk claimed that the federal government paid Reuters over $9 million for a “large scale social deception” project, while the news outlet refuted the specifics of the claim.
Musk responded to a story from Reuters critical of his Department of Government Efficiency on Wednesday by asking on X “how much money Reuters is getting from the government” and vowing to “find out.”
Journalist and commentator Mario Nawfal then shared a screenshot of a $9 million contract between the Department of Defense and “Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC” in response to Musk’s comment.
The description of the contract said the grant was for “active social engineering defense” and “large scale social deception.”
The contract started in September 2018 and concluded in November 2022.
🚨🇺🇸 DOD PAID REUTERS $9M FOR “SOCIAL ENGINEERING” PROGRAM
DOGE investigations reveal mysterious Defense Department payments to Reuters for “large scale social deception” project between 2018-2022.
While DARPA claims it was for cyber defense, questions swirl about why a news… https://t.co/8jfgRLW8Fv pic.twitter.com/DAcppcf2j9
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 13, 2025
Musk then shared the finding on X and alleged that Reuters was involved in deceiving the public.
“Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for ‘large scale social deception.’ That is literally what it says on the purchase order,” he said.
“They’re a total scam. Just wow.”
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Trump also commented on the revelation via Truth Social on Thursday.
“DOGE: Looks like Radical Left Reuters was paid $9,000,000 by the Department of Defense to study ‘large scale social deception.’ GIVE BACK THE MONEY, NOW!” the commander-in-chief said.
Reuters meanwhile wrote on Thursday that Thomson Reuters Special Services is a separate legal entity “governed by an independent board of directors.”
Rather than engaging in “large scale social deception” for the government, Reuters said the contract was for protecting the government from “social engineering, which is a form of cyber threat in which people are tricked into divulging sensitive information.”
Steve Rubley, CEO of Thomson Reuters Special Services, told the outlet that his entity has a longstanding relationship with the federal government.
“TRSS has provided software and information services to U.S. government agencies across successive administrations for decades, to assist in identifying and preventing fraud, supporting public safety, and advancing justice,” he said.
Thomson Reuters Special Services has received over $120 million in government contracts since 2010, according to Reuters.
Beyond the Defense Department, which has granted more than $60 million worth of contracts, Thomson Reuters Special Services received nearly $56 million from the Department of Homeland Security.
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