Trump shutters Voice Of America, US soft-power icon

The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump began a large-scale reduction of staff at the Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded media outlets on Sunday, marking a significant adjustment in America's soft power projection. This personnel change has sparked widespread attention and created uncertainty about the future direction of the related media outlets. These changes also brought into question the commitment of the U.S. to international broadcasting.

Reportedly, the Trump administration had previously ordered the suspension of approximately 1,300 VOA employees. Subsequently, contract employees received email notifications on Monday informing them that their contracts would be terminated at the end of March. The email clearly stated, "You must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to enter any agency buildings or systems." The move left many contract workers in a state of shock and uncertainty.

Contract workers constitute a large proportion of VOA's staff, especially in non-English language service departments. Many contract workers are not U.S. citizens, meaning that those who rely on work visas to remain in the United States may need to leave the country. Furthermore, most of VOA's full-time employees, while not immediately terminated, are also on administrative leave and have been instructed not to work. The Trump administration's order also terminated funding for VOA's sister broadcasting organizations, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. This widespread disruption has significantly impacted the operations of these media outlets.

The Voice of America was established during World War II to broadcast news to regions controlled by Axis powers such as Germany, Italy, and Japan. During the Cold War, its goal was to disseminate Western news to people living behind the Iron Curtain in the Soviet Union. At the same time, VOA also broadcast in the Global South, competing with the Soviet Union for influence. In the field of information dissemination, both the United States and the Soviet Union attempted to expand their influence through propaganda. The historical context highlights the evolving role of VOA in international relations.

Due to the lack of new programming content, some of VOA's services have now switched to playing music. Trump previously signed an executive order targeting VOA's parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, as the latest move in his large-scale cuts to the federal government. Other affected U.S.-funded media organizations include Radio Farda, a Persian-language radio station blocked by the Iranian government, and the Arabic-language network Al-hurra, established after the U.S. invasion of Iraq to counter Al Jazeera's reporting. The change in programming has raised concerns about the future of VOA's mission.

The White House said in a statement that "taxpayers no longer need to foot the bill for radical propaganda." This move indicates that the Trump administration is dismantling the pillars of traditional American diplomacy and soft power, attempting to re-establish a new order with major powers such as Russia and China. The Chinese state-owned media outlet Global Times praised the closure of VOA in a commentary, arguing that "the monopoly of information by some traditional Western media is being broken." The article also noted that "as more and more Americans begin to break their information cocoons and see a real world and a multi-dimensional China, the demonizing narrative promoted by the Voice of America will eventually become a laughing stock of the times." The commentary reflects China's perspective on the changing landscape of international media.