Voice of America (VOA) was plunged into crisis after more than 1,300 employees were put on leave following an executive decree by former president Donald Trump. The directive has also led to the end of financing the dissemination of American news services to authoritarian regimes, paralyzing the organization’s ability to operate effectively in nearly 50 languages.
On March 15, President Trump signed an executive decree forcing substantial cuts to media organizations funded by the United States, including VOA. This action led to an immediate placement of more than 1,300 VOA employees on paid administrative leave.
Voa’s director Michael Abramowitz expressed a deep concern, declaring that the absence of almost all the staff compromises the mission of the diffuser to provide reliable news to his global audience.
The decree also led to the connection of contracts with main press agencies such as the Associated Press, Reuters and Agency France-Press. These partnerships have been essential for the supply and distribution of content, and their dismissal raises serious concerns concerning VOA’s ability to maintain its journalistic standards and its global scope.
Kari Lake, appointed by Trump to supervise the organization, said these measures would save $ 53 million. However, criticisms argue that financial savings are made at the expense of undermining a critical platform for independent journalism.
What is VOA?
Founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA, as well as its sister networks like radio Free Europe, was a crucial source of independent news in authoritarian regimes. The broadcast in more than 40 languages, VOA reaches a weekly audience of around 326 million people. Collectively, these networks reach more than 420 million people each week in 100 countries, operating as instruments of gentle diplomacy entirely financed by federal dollars and by effectively silence an institution which has been a lighthouse of freedom and democracy since 1942.
Since its beginnings against Nazi propaganda in its role during the Cold War, the VOA has been a reliable source of news and cultural content.
What does the administration say
Kari Lake, criticizing the American agency for the world media (USAGM) as “a giant rot and a burden for the American taxpayer”, has committed to legally reducing his size. Lake’s actions met with the opposition, the former CFO Grant Turner defending the new headquarters of the agency as an economy measure.
The tweet of a spokesperson for the Deputy White House of “Goodbye” in several languages still illustrates the intention of the administration to restructure these organizations. This restructuring follows Trump’s previous criticisms of the VOA during his first mandate, marked by suspensions and investigations found to violate federal policy. These actions have been perceived as efforts to exercise more strict control on the operational accounts of media networks.
Political motivations and global implications
Observers suggest that these actions are politically motivated, aimed at exercising greater control over media stories, in particular in regions where the free press is threatened. Stephen Capus, head of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, condemned the movement as a “great gift to American enemies”, stressing that the reduction of VOA’s influence weakens the position of the United States on a global scale. This feeling reflects concerns that the decrease in VOA’s ability to undermine efforts to promote democratic values and counter authoritarian stories.
“All that I have always wanted to derive and tell the truth, whatever the government I covered. If it is a threat to anyone, whether it is so,” said William Gallo, the head of the Voa Seoul office, who said they were locked up. In response, the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky praised the networks to be “among the few free sources of people living without freedom”.
As the situation develops, the legality and the implications of these actions remain under control. It remains to be seen how it will affect the long -standing mission of the networks and their ability to provide specific news in the regions where independent journalism is threatened.
