President Trump signed an executive order over the weekend by gutting the Federal Agency that oversees Voice of America, the news newspaper that has been broadcasting news and information in countries where independent reporting is limited or censored for more than 80 years.
Hours after Trump signed an executive order on Friday running the elimination of the US Agency for Global Media, numerous journalists, leaders and staff at the Washington organization’s headquarters were announced that they were settling on paid vacation, according to national public radio.
The White House on Saturday issued a press release entitled “Voice of Radical America”, which mentioned some claims accusing VOA of the appearance of “a left -wing prejudice associated with national partisan media”.
Staff members reported that they immediately lost access to their e -mail posts and internal communication systems.
Over 1,000 full -time employees from Voice of America and the Cuba broadcast office, which operates Marty Radio and Television, were affected.
Since Saturday, broadcasts on VOA radio heard in Asia and the Middle East or silenced or broadcast straight music, according to the New York Times.
The White House defended the decision by showing past criticism of VOA reporting, which were described as propaganda, arguing that government -funded media organizations as VOA are no longer important.
Echoes this point of view, Elon Musk, the chief of Tesla who runs the government’s efficiency department, told VOA: “No one listens to them anymore.”
A White House’s “rapid response” account quoted two stories as an excuse why “US taxpayers should not fund” VOA, including one with a title that the voice told its reporters not to refer to Hamas as “terrorists”.
The other story was a title from a VOA article entitled “What is ‘White Privilegia’ and to whom do you help?”
Lake Kari, the former news political policeman, who twice ran unattended in Arizona as a Republican, was appointed by Trump to oversee VOA. She recently described her parent organization, Usagm, as beyond the reform.
VOA, which is located in Washington, DC, traditionally produces news programs that reach millions globally through a network of associates.
Moreover, many international stations previously based on the content of VOA will continue broadcasting without any contribution from US -based journalists.
Some of these networks began to keep news from state-controlled media from countries such as Russia and China-Combids whose narratives whose voice had historically opposed.
“They have withdrawn the plug operational,” The Times David Mr. Seide, a lawyer with a government responsibility project, told some VOA journalists.
Seide is weighing possible legal actions to restore affected employees.
Echoing this feeling, the American Foreign Service Association pledged “a powerful protection” of its VOA members.
VOA began broadcasting in 1942 to oppose Nazi propaganda and continued through the Cold War as a vital tool against Soviet misinformation.
Until this unexpected interruption, VOA reached hundreds of millions of listeners worldwide, including in oppressive regimes like Iran and China.
The VOA card clearly defends its editorial independence, forcing balanced reporting without political interference.
“To effectively close the Voice of America is to diminish a bright burning lantern during some of the darkest hours since 1942,” VOA Correspondent Steven Herman, who was placed in the administrative permit earlier this month over an X post that was considered critical to Trump, wrote on social media.
Shutdown also affects sisters’ networks such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liria, Radio Free Asia, and others serving over 420 million people each week.
Steve Capus, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said the completion of their grants would be “a massive gift to the enemies of America”.
The move has attracted criticism from Trump’s own party.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the former Republican Chairman of the Chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasized the critical role of networks in opposing foreign propaganda, especially in authoritarian regimes.
“That is why I strongly support many of his programs,” McCaul NPR told him.
“Programs like [Radio Free Asia] Provide daily updates in remote regions, support a free press even in authoritarian countries, and make sure that Americans-and people everywhere-do not subject to the propaganda of our opponents. “
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