More than 1,300 Voice of America (VOA) employees were placed on administrative leave on Saturday, March 15, while funding for two other U.S.-backed news organizations was terminated following an executive order by President Donald Trump. The order, signed on Friday, directed the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and six other federal agencies to scale down their operations to the legal minimum.
Michael Abramowitz, VOA’s director, said the decision had effectively silenced the 83-year-old broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages and reaches millions globally.
“I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,” Abramowitz said in a LinkedIn post. “It has played an important role in the fight for freedom and democracy around the world.”
The cuts also affected Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), two services known for providing independent journalism in authoritarian states such as Russia, China, and North Korea. The move has been met with widespread criticism from press freedom advocates and foreign officials, who warn that shutting down these platforms could embolden oppressive regimes.
Jan Lipavsky, Czech Foreign Minister, described RFE as a “beacon” for people under totalitarian rule.
“From Belarus to Iran, from Russia to Afghanistan, RFE and Voice of America are among the few free sources for people living without freedom,” he wrote on X.
The National Press Club in Washington also condemned the decision. Its president, Mike Balsamo, said, “For decades, Voice of America has delivered fact-based, independent journalism to audiences worldwide, often in places where press freedom does not exist.”
Meanwhile, Kari Lake, a Trump loyalist and nominee for VOA director, defended the decision, calling USAGM a “giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer.” She pledged to shrink the agency to its legal minimum, adding that it was “not salvageable.”
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been overseeing government cuts through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), dismissed concerns, joking on X that USAGM was temporarily being renamed the Department of Propaganda Everywhere (DOPE).
Trump’s executive order also affected agencies including the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, among others. A White House statement justified the cuts, saying they would prevent taxpayers from funding “radical propaganda.”
Source: Linda Ikeji Blog