Trump dismantles Voice of America with executive order
Donald Trump signed an order to deprive the voice of federally funded news organizations, accusing it of being “anti-Trump” and “radical.”
A statement from the White House said the order would “make sure taxpayers are no longer trapped in radical propaganda aspects”, which included politician quotes and right-wing media railings targeting “left”, “partisan” VOA.
The VOA is still primarily a radio service and was established during World War II to oppose Nazi propaganda. It is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world.
VOA director Mike Abramowitz said he and his entire staff were almost 1,300 on paid leave.
Abramowitz said the order prevented VOA from performing its “critical mission … especially today’s crucial, when American opponents such as Iran, China and Russia were sinking billions of dollars to create false narratives to discredit the United States”.
The president’s order targets VOA’s U.S. parent company Global Media or USAGM’s agency, which also funded nonprofit entities such as Radio Europe and Free Asia Radio, which were originally established for anti-communism.
It tells managers to “reduce performance…lower the minimum presence and function of legal requirements.”
CBS, a BBC news partner in the United States, said that U.S. VOA employees notified VOA employees in an email.
Sources told CBS that all freelancers and international contractors have been told that there is no money to pay now.
The email received by CBS informed the owners of Radio Radio and Free Europe Radio/Radio Freedom that their federal grants had been terminated.
Other radio stations under VOA and USAGM serve 4 million listeners, broadly equivalent to the BBC World Service, part of the funding funded by the UK government.
Trump’s billionaire and top adviser Elon Musk, who has been monitoring the U.S. government’s overall cuts, has used his social media platform X to call for the closure of VOA.
The U.S. president has also raised funds from several other federal agencies – including those responsible for preventing homelessness and funding museums and libraries.
Trump was highly critical of VOA during his first term. He recently appointed Staunch loyalist Kari Lake as a special counsel for US global media organizations.
The president often points out that mainstream media is biased against him. In his speech to the Department of Justice, he called CNN and MSNBC “corruption” and “illegal” without evidence.
The White House statement is linked to several commentators from the right-wing media organization about the so-called bias of the VOA.
It quotes an article written for the right-wing Washington Times by Dan Robinson, former White House correspondent of VOA, who said the group “is essentially a rogue operation full of arrogance and often reflects leftist bias.”
It includes links to other articles that accused VOA managers of telling staff not to describe Hamas as a “terrorist organization” and to curb negative coverage in Iran.
Other links are daily reports of the 2020 U.S. election, which claims it is good for Trump’s rival Joe Biden.
Voice of America was launched in 1942, a task to fight Nazi and Japanese propaganda. Its first broadcast – made by a transmitter loaned to the United States by the BBC – illustrates a moderate purpose.
Former President Gerald Ford signed the VOA public charter in 1976 to safeguard his editorial independence.
By 1994, a monitoring broadcasting committee on non-military broadcasting was established.
In 2013, the legislation shift allowed VOA and branches to start broadcasting in the United States.
