
China, Russia eager to fill void as Trump axes US-funded media
Trump moves to axe Voice of America and other US-funded media, China and Russia are eager to fill the void.
The targeting of VOA, Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia not only freezes some of the most dogged reporting on countries with heavily restricted media, but it comes after years of concerted efforts by Beijing and Moscow to promote their own worldview on the global media landscape.
Trump issued an executive order Friday to pare down the nearly $1 billion US Agency for Global Media, with hundreds of journalists swiftly put on leave or fired, in his latest sweeping cut to the federal government.
Lisa Curtis, who was a senior official on the National Security Council in Trump's first term and serves as board chair of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, formed in the Cold War to reach behind the Iron Curtain, said that closing the service «will actually help our adversaries.»
«Countries like China, Russia and Iran are investing hundreds of millions of dollars pumping out anti-American propaganda and disinformation,» she said.
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«Why would the Trump administration want to disarm itself in this environment?» she asked.
She said a pro bono legal team was challenging the authority to cut the funding, which was appropriated by Congress.
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A 2022 study by Freedom House, the democracy promotion research group which has also seen US government funding slashed by Trump, found that China has ramped up its media footprint globally with a strategy of offering free or low-cost content.
The report acknowledged that China had found success in part as it provided what media outlets needed, such as equipment.
In contrast to China's often formal official media, Russia has aggressively challenged the