Voice of America (VOA) workers on Saturday were placed on paid administrative leave “until otherwise notified,” instructing them not to enter the VOA office and to access internal systems.
Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia are also funded by the US government and are being cut in funding. All three outlets focus on broadcasting free information to non-US audiences, including conflict zones such as Ukraine, US rivals such as China and Russia, and dictatorships such as North Korea.
What else do you know about the cut?
The decision follows an executive order by President Donald Trump, which reduces the US Global Media Agency (USAGM) to minimal legal function. The agency oversees Voice of America and funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. The USAGM is led by Trump’s ally Lake Kari.
“The President issued an executive order entitled “Continuing the Continuation of the Federal Bureaucracy,” Lake posted online.
“If you’re an agency employee, check your email immediately,” she added.
It was not immediately clear how many VOA employees were sent on leave, but an international watchdog reporter with no borders said all employees were affected.
The Journalists’ Association has denounced Freeze as “resignation from the United States as a free information advocate,” and has been called by US lawmakers and the international community “to act against this unprecedented move.”
Bad blood between VOA, Trump
Trump and his intimate billionaire Elon Musk are looking to cut funding for multiple federal agencies and programs.
But the latest cuts directed at US-funded media come the day after Trump publicly denounced the US media as “corruption” and “illegal.” The US president accused the media of biased against him and criticising private CNN and MSNBC broadcasters as “Democrats’ political weapons.”
During his first term, Trump clashed with VoA, resigning two top directors in 2020.
The administration at the time claimed that the VOA “speaks too often for the American enemy – not citizens” and that the outlet “amplified Beijing propaganda.”
Editor: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
