The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) is highly concerned by the US administration’s decision on 15 March to effectively cease funding for US international broadcasting entities and place hundreds of Voice of America (VoA) employees on administrative leave. These measures represent a significant setback for global media freedom and threaten the ability of millions of people worldwide to access impartial, fact-based journalism.
For over eight decades, US international broadcasters such as VoA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and others have served as critical, independent news sources for audiences living under censorship, state-controlled media, and information blackouts. Their reporting provides an essential counterbalance to disinformation and propaganda in some of the most restrictive media environments in the world.
The decision to cut funding and suspend operations has far-reaching and potentially irreversible consequences. It will:
- Undermine media freedom: By weakening one of the world’s most respected international news providers, these actions risk emboldening authoritarian regimes that seek to suppress independent journalism.
- Reduce access to credible information: Hundreds of millions who rely on US international broadcasters for accurate and unbiased reporting—particularly in conflict zones and countries with restricted press freedom—will find it more difficult to access reliable news.
- Damage America’s global credibility: The US has long championed press freedom as a fundamental democratic principle. The US government undermines its commitment to free and independent journalism by dismantling key international broadcasting institutions.
At a time of rising disinformation and propaganda, the need for independent, professional journalism is greater than ever. The AIB calls on the US administration to immediately reverse these damaging decisions, restore funding to US international broadcasters, and ensure that journalists can continue their vital work without political interference.
Commenting on the developments, Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive, said: “At a time when the world is looking to the US to be a global player for peace and freedom, cutting funding for US international media—one of the main instruments underpinning this goal—seems the wrong direction to take.”
