Number of attacks related to foreign agent laws and narratives documented per year between 2020 to 2025.

Verbal attacks, including discrediting statements and smear campaigns, constituted nearly two-thirds (61.1%) of the violations, while legal actions accounted for one-third (33.3%). Government and public officials were responsible for more than half (52.8%) of the recorded incidents. The bulk of violations were documented in countries in Central and Eastern Europe, funding sources for public interest media. As the domino effect of foreign agent laws and narratives has spread in recent years, the MFRR has documented increasing numbers of US Agency for International Development (UsAiD), a major donor to media organisations globally. This shift increased financial pressure on many outlets and was quickly exploited by During the monitoring period, MapMF documented 19 violations directly linked to USAID funding, often framed as evidence of foreign influence. The topic was especially heated in Moldova, where accusations of foreign influence related to USAID funding led to a physical assault on media workers. In November 2025, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Hungarian- language service, Szabad Europa, closed following a decision by the Trump administration Trump's foreign policy by opposing the duly elected Prime Minister of Hungary", further weakening media pluralism in the country. Most alarmingly, across Europe this increasingly common political rhetoric was accompanied In 2025, MapMF recorded 12 incidents related to proposed or adopted legislation connected