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Voice of America staff were locked out<\/a> of their offices on Saturday\u2014unable to complete planned reporting\u2014after President Donald Trump<\/strong> signed an executive order<\/a> gutting the government-run news agency that the White House has referred<\/a> to as \u201cradical propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n VOA was founded in 1942 in part to counter Nazi propaganda<\/a>.<\/p>\n The move impacts all full-time staffers at the VOA and the Office for Cuba Broadcasting, which runs Radio and Television Mart\u00edore, and is poised to have a devastating effect on practically all operations under the United States Agency for Global Media\u2014the parent entity of VOA and the department targeted by Trump\u2019s Friday evening order.<\/p>\n According to the agency<\/a>, which is fully funded by federal dollars, broadcasters and their sister networks reach 420 million people in 63 languages and more than 100 countries each week, \u201coften in some of the world\u2019s most restrictive media environments.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,\u201d VOA director Michael Abramowitz<\/strong> wrote in a LinkedIn post. He shared that his entire staff of 1,300 journalists, producers, and assistants had been put on administrative leave, including himself. \u201cEven if the agency survives in some form, the actions being taken today by the Administration will severely damage Voice of America\u2019s ability to foster a world that is safe and free and in doing so is failing to protect U.S. interests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A statement released by the White House following the executive order details news coverage by VOA as justification for the defunding, including an article<\/a> defining white privilege after the murder of George Floyd, a story<\/a> about whether Russia perpetuated allegations against Hunter Biden<\/strong> to benefit Trump, and a segment<\/a> on LGBT migrants.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a relic of the past,\u201d Ric Grenell<\/strong>, Trump\u2019s special envoy for special missions, wrote on X in February. \u201cWe don\u2019t need government-paid media outlets<\/a>.\u201d Trump\u2019s billionaire donor and Department of Government Efficiency advisor Elon Musk<\/strong> wrote<\/a> on his social media platform, also in February: \u201cYes, shut them down \u2026 Nobody listens to them anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n The order, entitled \u201cContinuing the Reduction Of The Federal Bureaucracy,\u201d called for multiple other departments to be \u201celiminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,\u201d including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Minority Business Development Agency.<\/p>\n In December, Trump announced that Republican Kari Lake<\/strong>, a former news anchor who ran<\/a> twice for office in Arizona on a MAGA platform and lost both times, was his pick to serve as director of Voice of America\u2014though that didn\u2019t happen. A couple of months later, Trump named<\/a> her a senior adviser to the USAGM.<\/p>\n On Saturday morning, Lake took to X, shared a link to the executive order, and told<\/a> employees to check their emails\u2014where they would learn of their jobs being defunded.<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nX content<\/h4>\n