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US-Funded Media Outlets Affected by Trump Administration's Staff Freeze Order

US-Funded Media Outlets Affected by Trump Administration's Staff Freeze Order

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US President Donald Trump's administration has taken actions against journalists at various US-funded broadcasters, including Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe. The affected journalists have been placed on leave, with some sources reporting that hundreds of staff members have been affected.

Stephen Capus
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
1. The Iranian ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years.
Brian Padden
Voice of America
1. In 2014, I was harassed by Pro-Russian activists or militants in Ukraine who accused me and my VOA TV crew of being agents of pro-American propaganda. Both Musk and the Russian militants are wrong. VOA does not do propaganda. VOA reports the news, which includes the perspective of both proponents and critics of the president.
2. In the course of my reporting, I have been shot at, roughed up, and even nearly decapitated by an exploding helicopter in Eastern Ukraine.
Misha Komadovsky
Voice of America
1. Contractors, including myself, at Voice of America have just received an email notifying us that our contracts will be terminated effective March 31, 2025.
2. Even [the] KGB didn't get to shut down VOA.
Michael Abramowitz
Voice of America
1. We've benefitted from strong bipartisan support throughout RFE/RL's (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) storied history. Without us, the nearly 50 million people in closed societies who depend on us for accurate news and information each week won't have access to the truth about America and the world.
2. VOA 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.
3. I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced.
4. Voice of America has been a priceless asset for the United States, playing an essential role in the fight against communism, fascism, and oppression, and in the fight for freedom and democracy around the world.
Aleksandra Bielakowska
Reporters Without Borders
1. I am really sure they are now celebrating as democracies are weakened by [the US's] own self-destructive actions.
Maya Wang
Human Rights Watch
1. We will know even less what's going on in there, just as the Chinese government … wanted.
Bethany Allen
1. Both RFA and VOA do something that basically no one else does, which is reach audiences inside China through non-internet means.
Hu Xijin
Global Times
1. Almost all Chinese people know the Voice of America, as it is a symbolic tool of US ideological infiltration into China.
2. Voice of America has been paralyzed! And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China. How truly gratifying!
3. VOA has always been Washington's propaganda vanguard for hegemony, playing the same role as Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe.