WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration has begun a sweeping purge of US-funded media, with mass layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and other outlets that have long played a key role in US global influence.
The cuts, announced Sunday, have put thousands of employees in limbo, effectively gutting operations at media networks that were designed to counter propaganda in authoritarian states.
Just a day after all VOA employees were placed on leave, contractors—who make up a large portion of the workforce, especially in foreign-language services—received termination notices.
In an email obtained by AFP, affected staff were informed that they “must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to access any agency buildings or systems.”
While full-time VOA employees remain on administrative leave, contractors—many of whom are foreign nationals relying on their jobs for visas—are now facing an uncertain future.
With VOA in crisis, some services have already stopped producing new programming, resorting to playing music instead.
The layoffs follow an executive order signed by Trump on Friday, targeting VOA’s parent organization, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
The agency, which had 3,384 employees and a nearly $1 billion budget in 2023, has now seen drastic funding cuts.
Among the affected outlets are:
- Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which has historically provided news to former Soviet states.
- Radio Free Asia, which reports in regions with restricted media, including China and North Korea.
- Radio Farda, a Persian-language broadcaster blocked in Iran.
- Alhurra, an Arabic-language network created to provide an alternative to Al Jazeera.
In a statement, the White House defended the move, arguing that “taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.”
The administration has also sought to justify the cuts by pointing to VOA’s editorial independence, which Trump has repeatedly criticized.
The move comes as China and Russia ramp up investments in state media, pushing their own narratives in global news markets.
Beijing, in particular, has aggressively expanded its media presence in the developing world, offering free content to local outlets.
China’s state-run Global Times took note of VOA’s decline, calling it evidence that “the monopoly of information held by traditional Western media is being shattered.”
Trump, backed by billionaire Elon Musk, has made shrinking the federal government a priority in his push for tax cuts.
His administration has already slashed foreign aid and taken steps to dismantle the Education Department.
