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- Trump’s administration has put journalists at Voice of America and other US-funded broadcasters on leave, effectively freezing the outlets.
- The move is seen as a blow to the US’s ability to counter Russian and Chinese information offensives.
- The US Agency for Global Media has been listed as “unnecessary” by Trump, with funding cancelled and journalists barred from their offices.
- The head of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has condemned the move, calling it “a massive gift to America’s enemies”.
President Donald Trump’s administration has made a shocking move, putting journalists at Voice of America and other US-funded broadcasters on leave, effectively freezing the outlets. This decision has been met with widespread criticism, with many seeing it as a blow to the US’s ability to counter Russian and Chinese information offensives.
The US Agency for Global Media, which oversees the outlets, has been listed as “unnecessary” by Trump, with funding cancelled and journalists barred from their offices. Kari Lake, a Trump supporter and former Arizona news anchor, has been put in charge of the media agency, and has written to media outlets stating that federal grant money “no longer effectuates agency priorities”.
The head of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Stephen Capus, has condemned the move, calling it “a massive gift to America’s enemies”. He warned that the cancellation of funding would embolden authoritarian regimes, including China, Russia, and Iran.
This move is not the first time Trump has targeted US-funded media outlets. In 2020, his administration fired the heads of five organizations overseen by the US Agency for Global Media, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
