On Friday 14 March, Donald Trump signed an executive order describing the United States Agency for Government Media Worldwide (USAGM) as an ‘unnecessary bureaucratic activity’. This decision means drastic budget cuts for the agency’s media outlets, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Historically, the purpose of these media was to combat Nazi and then Soviet propaganda in Europe, and they still operate today throughout the world, including in countries where the press is muzzled.
The attack on public media abroad is part of a general offensive by the MAGA movement against the press. In the name of a convoluted vision of freedom of expression, Donald Trump is in fact hunting down opinions that do not suit him. Certain press agencies, starting with Associated Press, no longer have access to the White House and Air Force One, in favour of more conciliatory agencies. Fact-checking has been suppressed on the social networks of his friends Zuckerberg and Musk. Since 14 March, the national public media have also fear for their funding. Over the past ten years, the United States has steadily fallen in RSF’s press freedom rankings, which denounce ‘the abandonment of the United States’ historic role as a defender of press freedom.’
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