President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to dismantle US government-funded international broadcasters, including Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), citing concerns over taxpayer funding, bias, and inefficiency.
The move has drawn both praise and criticism, with supporters viewing it as a long-overdue reform and critics warning of potential consequences for global press freedom.
The White House justified the decision as a necessary step to ensure that American taxpayers are no longer funding media outlets that have, in Trump’s view, lost their way.
“This action will put an end to radical propaganda at the taxpayers’ expense,” a White House statement declared.
VOA and other stations under the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) have historically served as tools for countering foreign disinformation and promoting democratic values. Established in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda, VOA has grown into a global news outlet reaching millions worldwide. Similarly, RFA was founded to broadcast into authoritarian states such as China and North Korea, covering human rights abuses and political repression.
Despite these historical roles, Trump and his allies have long been critical of VOA and its affiliates, arguing that they have strayed from their original mission. In recent years, the administration has accused VOA of pushing anti-Trump narratives and failing to adequately represent American interests.
China, a frequent target of VOA and RFA’s reporting, reacted with open delight to the news. State-run media called the move a “gift to America’s enemies” and a blow to what they described as the “lie factory” of US state-funded journalism.
Hu Xijin, a former editor-in-chief of China’s nationalist Global Times, cheered the cuts, saying:
“Voice of America has been paralyzed! And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China.”
Other nationalist commentators mocked the US, calling the shutdown a sign of America’s decline.
However, opponents of the cuts argue that silencing these media organizations will allow authoritarian regimes to expand their influence unchecked. RFA CEO Bay Fang warned that the decision was a “reward to dictators and despots,” pointing out that China has been aggressively expanding its own state media presence under President Xi Jinping.
Conservative media figures and Trump allies welcomed the decision, arguing that these organizations had become bloated, biased, and ineffective. Kari Lake, a senior adviser at USAGM, defended the decision, stating that shutting down these outlets was a cost-saving measure and part of Trump’s broader effort to reduce government waste.
Elon Musk, a key adviser to Trump’s administration, has also voiced support for closing VOA, calling it an outdated Cold War relic. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team played a role in reviewing the agency’s finances, ultimately recommending the cuts.
On the other side, press freedom organizations decried the move, warning that it could leave an information vacuum in regions where independent journalism is already under threat. The National Press Club called the order “a fundamental shift that endangers the future of independent journalism.”
The shutdown order has already led to major disruptions. VOA placed all 1,300 staff members on administrative leave, and RFA signaled that it might cease operations entirely. Congress could still intervene, as funding for these agencies is determined by legislative appropriations, and legal challenges could stall the closures.
Trump’s supporters argue that this is a necessary step to prevent taxpayer-funded media from becoming an ideological weapon against the administration and the country. Critics, meanwhile, worry that the cuts may cede the global information war to America’s adversaries.
