The Trump government will stop the financing of news organization Voice of America (VOA). That report American media. According to Michael Abramowitz, the director of VOA, he himself was immediately sent on leave with ‘almost the entire staff’ of 1,300 people. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the European sister organization of VOA, also receives no more money.
Voice of America was founded in 1942 to protect a global audience from NaziPropaganda. Over the years, VOA became a channel for non-English-speakers abroad. Together the radio stations and news sites of VOA, RFL/RL and partner organizations reach more than 400 million visitors and listeners every year.
According to the White House, thanks to the stopping of financing, Americans are no longer responsible for paying for ‘radical propaganda’. The White House claims that VOA is guilty of Anti-Trump reporting. VOA is seen as a generally reliable news organization internationally.
According to Stephen Capus, director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to stop the financing would therefore be “a great gift to the enemies of America”. Capus: “The Iranian Ayatollahs, the Chinese communist leaders, and the Autocrats in Moscow and Minsk will celebrate the death of RFE/RL after 75 years.”
The Trump government has already taken steps against American media organizations. For example, reporters from the AP news agency are banned from the White House for an indefinite period of time. NBC News, The New York TimesNational Public Radio and Polico, the Ministry of Defense also had to give up their permanent workplaces in the Pentagon, in favor of Trumpist media such as One America News Network, the New York PosT and Breitbart. Donald Trump also called traditional media such as CNN and MSNBC repeatedly “corrupt” and “illegal.”