A few of the most widely circulated examples were highly controversial grants or programs tied to health, gender, or social issues — including a claim about $15 million for condoms to the Taliban , $1 million for French-speaking LGBTQ groups in West and Central Africa , and $446,700 to promote atheism in Nepal. Those examples were highlighted by congressional Republicans and media coverage around DOGE’s criticism of USAID spending, though some claims were disputed or presented without full context.

What people meant by “weird”

The “weird” label was mostly used in a political/viral sense, not as a technical audit category. In practice, it usually pointed to spending that sounded unusual to critics, even if the underlying program had a policy or humanitarian rationale.

Common examples cited

  • Condoms for the Taliban, often framed as shocking because of the recipient, not just the amount.
  • Support for LGBTQ organizations in Africa, which opponents described as unrelated to core aid priorities.
  • Funding connected to atheism promotion in Nepal, which got attention because it seemed especially offbeat to many readers.
  • USAID grant cuts affecting global health groups like Gavi were also cited by DOGE as savings, though those were not “weird” so much as controversial.

Important context

A lot of the viral list was driven by partisan messaging and internet reposts, so the claims should be treated carefully. Some items were real funding lines, while others were criticized for being taken out of context or lacking evidence that the money was used exactly as the headline implied.

Why it spread

This story spread because it mixed three things that travel fast online: foreign aid, sex/gender politics, and the idea of “government waste.” That made it especially sticky in forum discussions and headline roundups.

TL;DR: The most repeated “weird USAID funding” examples were condoms for the Taliban, LGBTQ funding in Africa, and atheism promotion in Nepal, but the claims were politically charged and not always fully contextualized.