Radio Liberty informed that the US has stopped funding

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) President and CEO Steven Kapus said the media outlet has had a federal grant agreement that funded its global operations canceled.

The corresponding statement appeared on the media page.

The US Global Media Agency, which managed RFE/RL, announced the termination of funding on March 15.

“Terminating the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty grant agreement would be a huge gift to America’s enemies. Iranian ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, autocrats in Moscow and Minsk will celebrate the closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in 75 years. A victory for our adversaries would make them stronger and America weaker,” Kapus emphasized.

According to him, throughout its existence, Radio Liberty has had bipartisan support in the United States.

Radio Liberty speaks in more than 20 languages. Its stated purpose is independent journalism, investigation, and support for democracy. According to Kapus, RFE/RLʼs programs reach nearly 50 million people in 23 countries each week.

What preceded

The US cut funding after Trump signed an executive order on March 14 directing the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and six other little-known agencies to reduce their operations to the minimum required by law, saying it was necessary to reduce bureaucracy.

It also became known that all employees of the Voice of America were sent on administrative leave. This includes more than 1,300 journalists, producers, support staff and the broadcasterʼs general director, Michael Abramowitz. The head of the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America, Ruslan Petrichka, stressed that the Ukrainian editorial office has also suspended broadcasting — all employees have been sent on administrative leave. According to Ruslan Petrichka, it is unknown what will happen next.

The White House said that now “taxpayers will no longer be on the hook for radical propaganda”. The Trump administration has published remarks about the work of Voice of America — most of the points used materials from various media outlets, which allegedly violated the broadcaster’s journalistic standards. The point is that Voice of America was criticized for “spreading stories and videos that appear too favorable to the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden”; several Voice of America reporters published anti-Trump posts on their work accounts on Twitter (now X). The full list of arguments can be read here.

• Earlier, American billionaire and head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk called for the closure of Radio Liberty and Voice of America. At the time, he said that no one listens to Radio Liberty and Voice of America, and called these media outlets “crazy left-wing radicals who talk to themselves, burning $1 billion a year of the US taxpayer money”. The US government has historically portrayed Voice of America as a counterweight to foreign propaganda and a model of free, honest, truthful news coverage.

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