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Trump, Musk cut funding for several government agencies
(MENAFN) President Donald Trump, with support from Elon Musk, has cut funding for several government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), effectively crippling America’s state-run foreign propaganda network. While other budget reductions targeting homelessness and labor mediation have largely gone unnoticed, the decision to defund USAGM has sparked outrage among centrist and liberal circles.
USAGM, which evolved from Cold War-era outlets like Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty, was originally created as a CIA-backed propaganda tool. Over the years, it expanded to include Radio Free Asia and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, reaching an estimated 427 million people weekly in 64 languages. The agency produced over 3,000 hours of programming each week, all aligned with U.S. geopolitical interests.
Trump’s executive order doesn’t formally dissolve USAGM but reduces its budget and staffing to the point that it can no longer function. Musk criticized the agency as a wasteful, outdated operation burning through $1 billion annually, calling it “radical crazy people talking to themselves.”
Despite the agency's Cold War origins, mainstream media and former USAGM officials have condemned the cuts, with Voice of America’s director, Michael Abramowitz, arguing that the organization "promotes freedom and democracy" worldwide. RFE/RL’s head, Steve Capus, claimed the decision was a “massive gift to America’s enemies.”
While critics mourn the loss of this global broadcasting arm, supporters of the cuts see it as a long-overdue move to eliminate Cold War-era state propaganda.
USAGM, which evolved from Cold War-era outlets like Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty, was originally created as a CIA-backed propaganda tool. Over the years, it expanded to include Radio Free Asia and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, reaching an estimated 427 million people weekly in 64 languages. The agency produced over 3,000 hours of programming each week, all aligned with U.S. geopolitical interests.
Trump’s executive order doesn’t formally dissolve USAGM but reduces its budget and staffing to the point that it can no longer function. Musk criticized the agency as a wasteful, outdated operation burning through $1 billion annually, calling it “radical crazy people talking to themselves.”
Despite the agency's Cold War origins, mainstream media and former USAGM officials have condemned the cuts, with Voice of America’s director, Michael Abramowitz, arguing that the organization "promotes freedom and democracy" worldwide. RFE/RL’s head, Steve Capus, claimed the decision was a “massive gift to America’s enemies.”
While critics mourn the loss of this global broadcasting arm, supporters of the cuts see it as a long-overdue move to eliminate Cold War-era state propaganda.
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