The News
US President Donald Trump moved to gut federally funded media outlets that for decades have promoted American values around the world.
More than 1,300 Voice of America employees were put on leave, while funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia — which broadcast inside countries like Russia and North Korea — was terminated.
Beginning with the formation of VOA in 1942, the outlets were formed to counter Nazi propaganda and communism.
“The Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise [of the outlets],” the head of RFE/RL said in a statement Saturday, describing it as “a massive gift to America’s enemies.”
The cuts extended the administration’s attacks on US media: The administration is investigating public broadcasters, and Trump on Friday suggested that negative cable coverage “cannot be legal.”