A Northern Ireland children’s charity has accused the tech billionaire Elon Musk of championing “cruel and inhumane” cuts by the Trump administration to foreign aid.
Children in Crossfire was started in 1996 by Richard Moore, who was blinded as a schoolboy in Derry after being struck by a rubber bullet fired by a British soldier in 1972.
The charity works to help children facing poverty and war in conflict zones around the world.
Posting on Musk’s X platform (formerly known as Twitter), the charity announced they were suspending their account.
“We have taken the decision to suspend all activity on this platform, for two main reasons,” a spokesperson said.
1/6: We have taken the decision to suspend all activity on this platform, for two main reasons: pic.twitter.com/yUJ0YcRO86
— Children in Crossfire (@ChildreninXfire) March 7, 2025
“In our view, X facilitates and encourages a worldview that is entirely incompatible with Children in Crossfire’s ethos and mission; and the current US administration, including X’s owner, Elon Musk, is pursuing a deeply cruel and inhumane course of action on overseas aid that will deliver catastrophic consequences for some of the world’s most vulnerable people – including children.”
It follows the Trump administration slashing 80% of funding for the six-decade-old US Agency for International Development (USAid).
Appointed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Mr Musk is among those implementing the dramatic shift away from delivering tens of billions of dollars in US Foreign aid.
As witnessed before during his takeover of X, Mr Musk abruptly sacked USAid staff – including in areas like epidemic control and famine prevention – around the world through and shutdown funding streams overnight.
Many UsAid staff and their families living overseas are also waiting for back payments and travel expenses to allow them to travel home.
Although Children in Crossfire is not funded by USAid, the charity said it needed to act in solidarity with those who were.
“We are not naïve: we know this decision will likely go unnoticed by those we are criticising,” they said.
“We also understand that no social media platform is without problems. But we have to take a stand – even in this relatively small way – in defence of ideals we cherish and people we care about.”
The charity will continue to post about its work on other social media platforms including Bluesky, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok & Youtube.
Discover more from World Byte News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
