The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump began wide-scale layoffs at the Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S. government-funded media outlets on Sunday, confirming its intent to dismantle platforms long considered vital to U.S. influence.
اضافة اعلان
Just one day after granting all employees leave, those working on fixed-term contracts received an email informing them that their services would be terminated by the end of March.
The contractors were informed in the email, confirmed by several employees to AFP, that "you must cease all work immediately and are not allowed to enter any agency buildings or systems."
Contract workers form the majority of the workforce at VOA, especially in non-English language services, although updated figures are not yet available.
Many of the contractors are not U.S. citizens, meaning they likely rely on their jobs for visas to remain in the United States.
Full-time employees, who are legally protected, were not immediately laid off, but were placed on administrative leave and instructed not to work.
Voice of America, which was established during World War II, broadcasts in 49 languages with the mission of reaching countries without media freedom.
Liam Scott, a journalist at VOA covering press freedoms and disinformation, said he was informed of his dismissal effective March 31.
He noted on X (formerly Twitter) that the Trump administration's dismantling of "Voice of America" and other media platforms is part of its broader efforts to "dismantle the government," but also part of the administration’s wider attack on freedom of expression and the media.
He added, "I have covered press freedom for a long time and have never seen anything like what has happened in the United States in the last few months."
Some services at VOA have resorted to broadcasting music due to a lack of new programming.
Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting the U.S. Agency for Global Media in the latest move to reduce federal government spending.
The agency had 3,384 employees in the fiscal year 2023 and requested $950 million for the current fiscal year.
The broad cuts also freeze the operations of "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty," which was established during the Cold War to reach the former Soviet bloc, and "Radio Free Asia," which was created to provide coverage to China, North Korea, and other Asian countries with highly restricted media.
Other U.S.-funded platforms being dismantled include "Radio Farda," a Persian-language outlet blocked by the Iranian government, and the "Alhurra" network in Arabic, which was established after the Iraq invasion to counter Al Jazeera in Qatar.
These moves come as Russia and China are heavily investing in official media to challenge Western narratives, with China often providing free content to platforms in developing countries.
AFP
