This is one of the most dramatic moves by Donald Trump yet.
He has dismantled a global media network.
And the effects of this are going to be huge.
Donald Trump has not been shy about making aggressive moves in the early days of his second term in office.
And his latest one will certainly send shockwaves through D.C.
Voice of America is a global media network funded by the U.S. government and primarily operates as a radio service that broadcasts global news from the U.S. point of view.
But Trump feels the network has taken on a very specific political perspective, one he does not share nor support.
And that’s why he has taken the highly controversial step of stripping Voice of America of almost all its federal funding.
According to BBC, “US President Donald Trump has signed an order to strip back federally funded news organisation Voice of America, accusing it of being ‘anti-Trump’ and ‘radical.’”
“A White House statement said the 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.”
Americans might not feel the effects of this as much since the intended audience are people in other countries.
“Mike Abramowitz, VOA’s director, said he and virtually his entire staff of 1,300 people had been put on paid leave,” the BBC reports.
“Abramowitz said that the order 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.’”
“The president’s order targets VOA’s parent company 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.”