Nearly all employees of Voice of America (VOA) have been placed on leave after President Donald Trump signed an executive order significantly cutting back the government-run news agency.
On Friday evening, Trump issued an order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” directing his administration to minimize several agencies, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Martí, the Spanish-language broadcaster in Cuba.
Reporters Without Borders condemned the move, stating that it “threatens press freedom worldwide and undermines 80 years of American history supporting the free flow of information.”
This decision to reduce the resources of the pro-democracy news agency comes amid ongoing Republican accusations that publicly funded media outlets, like VOA, are biased against conservatives.
In a statement, the White House defended the executive orders, arguing they would protect taxpayers from funding what they called “radical propaganda,” listing several criticisms of VOA, including claims of left-wing bias.
