UNILTERAL DISRMAMENT Silencing America’s Voice
The Trump administration has taken a series of steps which have substantially weakened U.S. government-funded media outlets whose task it was to tell the American story and counter the global propaganda and disinformation efforts of U.S. adversaries. These moves greatly benefit the anti-American propaganda efforts of Russia and China, which will now go unchallenged.
The Trump administration has taken a series of step which have substantially weakened U.S. government-funded media outlets and greatly benefited the global propaganda efforts of Russia and China. The administration has also shut down the intelligence community’s sections and FBI units whose task was to track and thwart foreign malign propaganda and influence campaigns in the United States. Shutting down these sections and units makes the U.S. government practically blind to the reach, scope, and methods of these malign foreign influence efforts, and leaves the American public more exposed to the persistent disinformation campaigns of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
The administration’s actions include:
· Dismantling the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM): In March 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order to dismantle USAGM, the parent agency for international broadcasters like Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
· This move effectively halted VOA broadcasts and terminated federal grants to RFA and RFE/RL, which left a yawning vacuum for Russian and Chinese propaganda to fill.
· Mass layoffs and staff furloughs: The dismantling of USAGM resulted in more than 1,000 employees and contractors being suspended or terminated, including VOA journalists and those from other affiliated networks.
· In May 2025, hundreds of VOA contractors, including foreign journalists holding J-1 work visas, were terminated. Press freedom organizations expressed concern that these individuals faced deportation to countries where they could be arrested or harassed for their reporting.
· Kari Lake, an avid election-denier who had lost two political campaigns in Arizona — one for the Senate, the other for governor – was appointed by Trump to head USAGM, and has been busy dismantling the organization. She made the headlines with her revelation that she was focusing on having the hundreds of VOA foreign journalists and producers deported because they were “security threats.”
· Attempts to politicize media outlets which were created to counter Russian and Chinese propaganda: Even before the 2025 dismantling, the administration took steps that critics said aimed to turn USAGM outlets into a pro-Trump political operation, in violation of the “statutory firewall” that protects their editorial independence.
· In 2020, Trump appointee Michael Pack, who headed USAGM for a period, was accused of high-level firings, suspending security clearances of whistleblowers, and refusing to renew foreign journalists’ visas. A government investigation later found that Pack had abused his authority and wasted funds.
· Eliminating counter-disinformation efforts: The administration also closed down other programs aimed at countering foreign propaganda and safeguarding the American “brand,” leaving a void for Russian and Chinese narratives to exploit.
· An FBI task force dedicated to foreign influence and a State Department office focused on tracking and countering global disinformation were both shut down.
