US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to cut back the government-funded news organisation Voice of America (VOA).
A White House statement, titled “The Voice of Radical America,” said the executive order would "ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda". It accused VOA of being anti-Trump.
VOA was set up during World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda. It says it currently reaches hundreds of millions of people globally each week.
The BBC reported that Mike Abramowitz, VOA's Director, and virtually his entire staff of 1,300 people had been put on paid leave.
Staff members reported losing access to their work emails and internal communication systems.
VOA radio broadcasts heard in Asia and the Middle East either went silent or aired just music, according to the New York Times.
US journalists’ organisation The National Press Club, reported that large numbers of VOA journalists had been placed on indefinite leave, just a day after the White House ordered a significant downsising to VOA’s parent agency, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
National Press Club President Mike Balsamo said: “For decades, Voice of America has delivered fact-based, independent journalism to audiences worldwide, often in places where press freedom does not exist. Removing large numbers of its journalists at the same time as dismantling USAGM threatens the very foundation that has allowed VOA to operate without political interference.
“If an entire newsroom can be sidelined overnight, what does that say about the state of press freedom? This move not only puts VOA’s credibility at risk but also undermines America’s long-standing commitment to a free and independent press.”
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