Quotes
The carefully constructed 'iron curtain of public opinion' they have built is also on the verge of collapse under the impact of countless media and self-media showcasing authentic content,
the editorial continued
This is the first time in its more than 80 years of operations that VOA has gone dark, and that makes this a dark moment in the history of press freedom,
SPJ President Emily Bloch said in a statement
There’s a reason it’s referred to as ‘pound-for-pound the most corrupt agency in Washington DC.’ Because it is!”
Kari Lake, the Agency for Global Media’s special adviser who once called for the imprisonment of journalists, cheered its demise on social media, sayingThis decision risks benefiting our common adversaries.”
The European Commission warned to PoliticoVoice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now.”
A senior White House official dismissed those concerns in a statement to Fox News, saying_(cropped).jpg)
Meanwhile in Russia: Vladimir Solovyov shared Margarita Simonyan's joy over Trump's decision to defund RFE/RL and Voice of America. Solovyov threatened France and Britain and wished death upon independent journalists,
Davis wrote
The Trump administration's dismantling of VOA, RFE/RL, RFA and other outlets under USAGM are part of its efforts to dismantle the government more broadly—but it's also part of the administration's broader assault on press freedom and the media. I've covered press freedom for a long time, and I've never seen something like what's happened in the U.S. over the past couple months."
Liam Scott, VOA reporter covering press freedom, said on X
I'm not making any inferences, but from distancing the U.S. from NATO, promising that Ukraine won't join, ending the FBI's foreign influence task force, eliminating Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and foreign aid, Trump is fulfilling all of Putin's dreams."
Richard Stengel, editor and former U.S. under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said on XVOA 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,
he wrote on LinkedIn
A silencing of VOA will be celebrated by communists, autocrats and ayatollahs whose lies we shed light on,
VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb tweetedHanding our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker. We've benefitted from strong bipartisan support throughout RFE/RL's storied history,
Capus declaredI hope they will not be forgotten.”
adding:
The disappearance of this kind of Chinese-language media will definitely leave a hole in the information supply,
Rose Luqiu, associate head of the journalism department at Hong Kong Baptist University, said of VOA, which provided “a lot of Chinese news stories.”
From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer — a national security risk for this nation — and irretrievably broken,
Lake said in a statement on SaturdayMost people in China consume news in Chinese, not English, and not many media outlets provided Chinese content,
she addedTaxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda,
it said
Almost all Chinese people know the Voice of America, as it is a symbolic tool of US ideological infiltration into China,
Hu wrote in a post on microblogging site Weibo, where he has nearly 25 million followers
Voice of America has been paralyzed! And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China. How truly gratifying
wrote Hu Xijin, a former editor-in-chief of the Global Times and prominent nationalist commentatorThank you, Comrade Chuan Jianguo and Elon Musk, please take care and stay safe,
a Weibo user said on MondayAs more Americans begin to break through their information cocoons and see a real world and a multidimensional China, the demonizing narratives propagated by VOA will ultimately become a laughingstock of the times,
it added