US President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order shutting down funding of multiple federal agencies including Voice of America (VOA) – one of the most influential global news organisations.
The executive order eliminated the funding for US Agency for Global Media, which is the parent for Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
These organisations employ thousands of journalists and staff, who now find themselves in crosshairs.
Azaad Digital’s correspondent Awais Ali spoke with a senior journalist, Zafar Syed, who spent a significant part of his career working with Voice of America (VoA) in Washington, DC.
The senior journalist has been asked about the factors behind the shutdown of the broadcast.
Zafar Syed told the Azaad Digital’s correspondent about the origins of VoA that the organisation was found in 1942 to counter the Nazi Propaganda during the World War II.
He disclosed that the VoA kept expanding into different regions and diverse languages to represent American interests.
Zafar Syed revealed the reason behind close of VoA, saying, “There has been a difference of governance style between Democrats and Republicans for a long time. Rpublicans always want to cut government spending and reduce state spending on non-essential matters.”
“Since the Republicans have majority in Senate and Congress; Donald Trump saw it as an opportunity to implement his governance plans. Secondly, Elon Musk is a big factor in this. He has landed in politics with a vengeance.”
Former VoA journalist further stated: “There were two reasons that this government made public against Voice of America. First was that this organisation allegedly spends $1 billion a year which is false. It has an annual budget of around $260 million. Secondly, Republicans alleged that the Voice of America has become a mouthpiece of radical leftists.”
According to Syed, these allegations against VoA were also made public by Elon Musk in his posts on X (formerly Twitter).
More than 1,300 Voice of America staff was laid off when the Trump administration decided to close the renowned institution.
Azaad Digital’s correspondent asked Zafar about the allegations against VoA whether it worked as a propaganda tool against weak governments for American interests.
He replied: “Voice of America was an independent organisation and worked according to its own charter. The very fact that it has been shut down by US government proves that it wasn’t serving their propaganda but worked on its journalistic charter.”
He further added that the organisation’s charter included propagating US state’s narrative around the world through open discussion, debates and opinions.
He clarified that it did not represent a specific government’s narrative but the US State’s and stated that it was not like Pakistan’s PTV channel.
Correspondent Awais asked Zafar about the reasons why the Voice of America was not broadcasted in the United States, to which, he responded: “It is written in the US constitution that their government cannot use taxpayers money on any broadcast to influence the taxpayers themselves. In simple words, they cannot create state-funded broadcast or information channel.”
The senior journalist also added that shutting down VOA will not have as significant impact as it would have some decades ago because the age of technology and information has evolved.
Last week, VOA employees received an email saying that they are on administrative leave with pay until further notice.
VOA’s director Michael Abramowitz took to social media to express his regret over the development, writing, “For the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced.”
