Quotes
This is the first time in its more than 80 years of operations that VOA has gone dark, and that makes this a dark moment in the history of press freedom,
SPJ President Emily Bloch said in a statement
There’s a reason it’s referred to as ‘pound-for-pound the most corrupt agency in Washington DC.’ Because it is!”
Kari Lake, the Agency for Global Media’s special adviser who once called for the imprisonment of journalists, cheered its demise on social media, sayingThis decision risks benefiting our common adversaries.”
The European Commission warned to PoliticoVoice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now.”
A senior White House official dismissed those concerns in a statement to Fox News, saying_(cropped).jpg)
Meanwhile in Russia: Vladimir Solovyov shared Margarita Simonyan's joy over Trump's decision to defund RFE/RL and Voice of America. Solovyov threatened France and Britain and wished death upon independent journalists,
Davis wrote
The Trump administration's dismantling of VOA, RFE/RL, RFA and other outlets under USAGM are part of its efforts to dismantle the government more broadly—but it's also part of the administration's broader assault on press freedom and the media. I've covered press freedom for a long time, and I've never seen something like what's happened in the U.S. over the past couple months."
Liam Scott, VOA reporter covering press freedom, said on X
I'm not making any inferences, but from distancing the U.S. from NATO, promising that Ukraine won't join, ending the FBI's foreign influence task force, eliminating Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and foreign aid, Trump is fulfilling all of Putin's dreams."
Richard Stengel, editor and former U.S. under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said on XVOA needs thoughtful reform, and we have made progress in that regard. But today’s action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission,
he wrote on LinkedIn
A silencing of VOA will be celebrated by communists, autocrats and ayatollahs whose lies we shed light on,
VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb tweetedHanding our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker. We've benefitted from strong bipartisan support throughout RFE/RL's storied history,
Capus declaredI hope they will not be forgotten.”
adding:In the course of my reporting, I have been shot at, roughed up, and even nearly decapitated by an exploding helicopter in Eastern Ukraine,
Padden said on Facebook on Sunday
As more Americans begin to break through their information cocoons and see a real world and a multidimensional China, the demonizing narratives propagated by VOA will ultimately become a laughingstock of the times,
it said
To effectively shutter the Voice of America is to dim a beacon that burned bright during some of the darkest hours since 1942,
Herman wrote
They have pulled the plug operationally,
said David Seide, a lawyer at the Government Accountability Project who defends federal whistleblowers and who represents some Voice of America journalistsWhile winding down this global government propaganda agency, it has temporarily been renamed the Department of Propaganda Everywhere (DOPE),
he joked on his X platform
The cancelation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's grant agreement would be a massive gift to America's enemies
Steve Capus, the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, also told NPRWell, we're going to be now calling the shots,
Trump said