Shawka is a columnist at Sudan‘s 500 Words Magazine. While 500 Words maintains that it is „a Sudanese independent online magazine,“ it proudly advertises in the right column of its website an upcoming US Institute of Peace „Sudanese and South Sudanese Youth Leaders Program.“ Like Thailand‘s deceitful US-funded propaganda front Prachatai, 500 Words is most likely directly funded by the US government, and is most certainly in tune with the US State Department‘s agenda and talking points regarding Sudan.