US dismantles VoA, fires nearly 1,300 staff over alleged ‘anti-Trump’ ideology

*Mike Abramowitz, Director of ‘Voice of America’, affirms he and almost his entire staff of 1,300 people have been put on paid leave, lamenting President Donald Trump administration’s Executive Order has left the VoA ‘unable to carry out its vital mission… especially critical today’

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

United States (US) President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order to strip back federally-funded news organisation, Voice of America (VoA), accusing it of being “anti-Trump” and “radical”.

A White House statement said the fresh Order would “ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda”, and included quotes from politicians and right-wing media criticising the broadcaster.

VoA, still primarily a radio service, was set up during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda.

It says it currently reaches hundreds of millions of people globally each week.

Mike Abramowitz, Director of VoA, said he and virtually his entire staff of 1,300 people had been put on paid leave.

Abramowitz disclosed the Trump administration’s Order has left VoA unable to carry out its “vital mission… especially critical today, when America’s adversaries, like Iran, China, and Russia, are sinking billions of Dollars into creating false narratives to discredit the United States,” BBC report said.

NPC: Trump’s anti-free and independent press

The National Press Club (NPC), a leading representative group for US journalists, said the order “undermines America’s long-standing commitment to a free and independent press.”

The Club stated: “If an entire newsroom can be sidelined overnight, what does that say about the state of press freedom?

“An entire institution is being dismantled piece by piece.

“This isn’t just a staffing decision – it’s a fundamental shift that endangers the future of independent journalism at VoA.”

President Trump’s order as well targets VoA’s parent company, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which also funds non-profit entities, such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, which were originally set up to counter communism.

It tells managers to “reduce performance… to the minimum presence and function required by law,” according to report.

CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, said that VoA employees were notified in an e-mail by Crystal Thomas, the USAGM Human Resources Director.

Besides, a source told CBS that all freelance workers and international contractors were told there was now no money to pay them any longer.

E-mails obtained by CBS notified the bosses of Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that their Federal grants had been terminated.

VoA and other stations under USAGM say they serve over 400 million listeners.

They are broadly equivalent to the BBC World Service, which is part-funded by the British Government.

Responding to Trump’s order, Jan Lipavský, Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister, said he hoped the European Union (EU) could help keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty running in Prague.

Lipavský said he would ask European Foreign Ministers at a meeting, Monday, March 17, 2025, to explore ways to at least partially maintain the broadcaster’s operations.

Elon Musk, the billionaire and top adviser to Trump who has been overseeing sweeping cuts to the US Government, has used his social media platform X to call for VoA to be shut down.

The US President also cut funding to several other Federal agencies, including those responsible for preventing homelessness, and funding museums and libraries.

Trump was highly critical of VoA in his first term, report stated.

He has recently appointed staunch loyalist Kari Lake to be a Special Adviser for the USAGM.

The President regularly states that mainstream media outlets are biased against him.

He called CNN and MSNBC “corrupt” during a speech at the Justice Department, report said.

About VoA

Voice of America launched in 1942 with a mandate to combat Nazi and Japanese propaganda.

Its first broadcast – made on a transmitter loaned to the US by the BBC – stated a modest purpose.

Gerald Ford, a former president, signed VoA’s public charter, in 1976, to safeguard its editorial independence.

By 1994, the Broadcast Board of Governors, with oversight over non-military broadcasting, was established.

In 2013, a shift in legislation allowed VoA and affiliates to begin broadcasting in the US.

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