{"id":10209,"date":"2025-03-17T12:37:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T04:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209"},"modified":"2025-03-17T12:37:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T04:37:33","slug":"massive-gift-to-americas-enemies-activists-decry-cuts-to-government-funded-networks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">GettyImages-2204886372.jpg\u00a9\u00a0Jonathan Raa\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Radio Free Europe streamed unflinching coverage of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine to Russians when the Kremlin banned its citizens from calling it a war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radio Free Asia bravely exposed China\u2019s mass detention of the Uyghurs, a predominately Muslim ethnic minority in the far west of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Open Technology Fund helped fund the creation of Signal, the hugely popular encrypted messaging app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All three American government-funded outlets are in jeopardy now that the Trump administration has terminated all of the grant programs at the US Agency for Global Media, or USAGM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The administration said Saturday that the agency is \u201cnot salvageable.\u201d Thousands of employees and contractors are now trying to figure out what\u2019s next for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocates for the networks, including lawmakers in both the United States and Europe, say the cutbacks will undermine press freedoms and hurt America\u2019s standing in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>America\u2019s international broadcasters have, for more than eight decades, \u201cserved as critical sources of independent news for audiences living under censorship, state-controlled media, and information blackouts,\u201d the UK-based Association for International Broadcasting said in a statement. \u201cTheir reporting provides an essential counterbalance to disinformation and propaganda in some of the most restrictive media environments in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The president of Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, Steve Capus, was more blunt over the weekend: He said the termination of the network \u201cwould be a massive gift to America\u2019s enemies. The Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE\/RL after 75 years. Handing our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The biggest network targeted by Trump\u2019s dismantling is Voice of America, a global news outlet with stations and websites in local languages around the world. Voice of America abruptly stopped publishing new stories Saturday when virtually the entire staff was placed on administrative leave and told to stop working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until Saturday, USAGM also bankrolled networks in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as the Open Technology Fund, which fights online censorship and promotes an open internet, countering repression and surveillance by authoritarian regimes. The agency also oversees the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which has a long history of broadcasting news in Spanish to the island of Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump administration has indicated that the funds for those efforts are being cut off, though the networks were still operating as of Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the agency was established and funded by Congress, and its broadcasting initiatives have historically won bipartisan support, some employees are wondering if and when Trump\u2019s actions will be challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radio Free Asia CEO Bay Fang said \u201cwe plan to challenge this short-sighted order and pursue whatever means necessary to continue our work and protect our courageous journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fang called the grant cutoff \u201ca reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked in the information space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s the primary point made by outside advocates, as well. USAGM \u201cpromotes press freedom and counters disinformation worldwide,\u201d Democratic congresswoman Lois Frankel said Saturday. \u201cDismantling it silences independent journalism, emboldens authoritarian regimes, and weakens democracy at home and abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Republican congressman Don Bacon also praised the broadcasters for \u201cgetting America\u2019s story to the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump White House is telling a completely different story. In a press release, the administration claimed the \u201cVoice of Radical America\u201d produced \u201cradical propaganda.\u201d Trump loyalist Kari Lake, who was tapped to oversee Voice of America, said \u201cwaste, fraud, and abuse run rampant in this agency and American taxpayers shouldn\u2019t have to fund it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a late-night executive order on Friday, Trump said the agency should be reduced to its bare minimum function as required by statute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Affected employees are now left wondering if Lake and her deputies will try to transform the gutted networks into an overtly partisan, pro-Trump media apparatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, they\u2019ve been told to remain on leave \u201cuntil further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Liam Scott, who covers the press freedom beat for VOA, said that 10 journalists from US-funded broadcasters are currently \u201cimprisoned around the world for doing their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He wrote on X, \u201cI hope they will not be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Radio Free Europe streamed unflinching coverage of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine to Russians when the Kremlin banned its citizens from calling it a war. Radio Free Asia bravely exposed China\u2019s mass detention of the Uyghurs, a predominately Muslim ethnic minority in the far west of the country. The Open Technology Fund helped fund the creation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[3149,3188,1880],"class_list":["post-10209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa","tag-free","tag-radio","tag-war"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Radio Free Europe streamed unflinching coverage of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine to Russians when the Kremlin banned its citizens from calling it a war. Radio Free Asia bravely exposed China\u2019s mass detention of the Uyghurs, a predominately Muslim ethnic minority in the far west of the country. The Open Technology Fund helped fund the creation [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-17T04:37:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-17T04:37:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"sddm0805\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\",\"name\":\"LISTEN WORLD\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg\",\"width\":768,\"height\":432},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209\",\"name\":\"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks - LISTEN WORLD\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-17T04:37:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-17T04:37:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/401cf16edf5abe8109bc4f81d40e2298\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/401cf16edf5abe8109bc4f81d40e2298\",\"name\":\"sddm0805\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b923aee309f3523e57a0208042f74bc6f6899d4ce27b86964e2e49bf87805ff1?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b923aee309f3523e57a0208042f74bc6f6899d4ce27b86964e2e49bf87805ff1?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"caption\":\"sddm0805\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=11\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks - LISTEN WORLD","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks - LISTEN WORLD","og_description":"Radio Free Europe streamed unflinching coverage of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine to Russians when the Kremlin banned its citizens from calling it a war. Radio Free Asia bravely exposed China\u2019s mass detention of the Uyghurs, a predominately Muslim ethnic minority in the far west of the country. The Open Technology Fund helped fund the creation [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209","og_site_name":"LISTEN WORLD","article_published_time":"2025-03-17T04:37:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-17T04:37:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"sddm0805","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/","name":"LISTEN WORLD","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1-3.jpg","width":768,"height":432},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#webpage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209","name":"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks - LISTEN WORLD","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-03-17T04:37:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-17T04:37:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/401cf16edf5abe8109bc4f81d40e2298"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10209#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Massive gift to America\u2019s enemies\u2019: Activists decry cuts to government-funded networks"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/401cf16edf5abe8109bc4f81d40e2298","name":"sddm0805","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b923aee309f3523e57a0208042f74bc6f6899d4ce27b86964e2e49bf87805ff1?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b923aee309f3523e57a0208042f74bc6f6899d4ce27b86964e2e49bf87805ff1?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","caption":"sddm0805"},"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=11"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10209"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10211,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10209\/revisions\/10211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}