Earth Science News
DEMOCRACY
China, Russia eager to fill void as Trump axes US-funded media
China, Russia eager to fill void as Trump axes US-funded media
By Shaun TANDON
Washington (AFP) Mar 18, 2025

As President Donald 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.

"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.

- Aggressive marketing -

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 West through government-run Sputnik and TT.

After Europeans banned the outlets in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has set its sights on Africa, including through social media campaigns targeting Western health projects, according to the Global Engagement Center, the State Department's anti-disinformation arm that also recently closed.

After smaller budget cuts in 2023 in Britain, the BBC ended long-time radio services including in Arabic. The BBC director general later said that Russian media took over the BBC Arabic radio frequency in Lebanon.

Sarah Cook, a researcher who led the 2022 Freedom House report, said it was not as simple as China taking over from VOA, which did not enter into local contracts in the same way that Chinese media does.

But a very different sort of journalism could dominate if China rather than the United States funds reporting in the developing world.

"Even if Chinese state media are doing it, the content is completely different. It's all pro-government, even pro-local government," she said.

- 'Lie factory' -

After Trump's move, China's Global Times hailed the end of "lie factory" VOA, and Sputnik said VOA and RFE were behind "fakes" about Russia's alleged massacre of civilians in Kyiv's Bucha suburb.

Kari Lake, a firebrand Trump supporter brought to the US Agency for Global Media, described it as a "giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer" that is not "salvageable."

Trump often rails against media coverage of him, and his administration has called government-funded media outdated, as private news sources are readily available.

But US-funded broadcasters ran in dozens of languages and often relied on exiles with unique sourcing in their homelands.

Curtis pointed to a figure that Persian-language Radio Farda reached 10 percent of Iran's adult population every week and to original reporting, including a 2016 RFE/RL story on a Chinese military base in Tajikistan.

Radio Free Asia broadcasts in the Tibetan and Uyghur languages, a unique outlet for journalists from the minority groups to operate outside the constraints both of the Chinese government and of commercial pressure.

"They are going to cover the stories that don't get picked up by other outlets, because big media cover more broadly and don't necessarily have as many native speakers employed," said Mareike Ohlberg, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund who has researched Chinese media policies.

Ohlberg said China began a global hiring spree in media during the 2008 financial crisis as it saw the struggles of Western commercial outlets, which have long angered Beijing with critical coverage.

"They saw an opportunity -- let's offer our narrative," she said.

"That expansion is going to continue, and it would have regardless of this decision.

"It just makes it easier for the narrative to take hold as there are now fewer alternatives."

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DEMOCRACY
Trump's anti-diversity and immigration stance overshadows SXSW festival
Austin (AFP) Mar 11, 2025
Shockwaves from the Trump administration's campaign against pro-diversity policies and its harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric were felt throughout the South By Southwest festival, the sprawling arts and tech event long known for championing progressive values. Since taking office, Donald Trump's hard-right White House has delivered a series of executive orders demanding that agencies across the federal government remove all references to policies meant to facilitate the hiring of women, people of color, ... read more

DEMOCRACY
Milei pledges funds for deluge-stricken Argentine city

Israel to immediately cut off electricity to Gaza, minister says

UK makes manslaughter arrest of ship captain over North Sea crash

US to deploy 600 additional troops to southern border

DEMOCRACY
Eco-friendly rare earth element separation: A bioinspired solution to an industry challenge

Shein says US tariff hit won't stop fast-fashion flood

Historic fantasy 'Assassin's Creed' sparks bitter battles

Colombian influencer puts the pizzazz into recycling

DEMOCRACY
Creditors appeal 3 bn lifeline for UK's top water supplier

Take 'precautionary approach' on deep-sea mining: top official tells AFP

Planetary Water Limits Pose Challenge to Geological Resource Production

Talks on divisive deep-sea mining resume in Jamaica

DEMOCRACY
AI reveals new insights into Antarctic ice flow

Scientists establish link between Earth's orbital shifts and ice age cycles

Global sea ice cover hits record low in February as world continues hot streak

World's sea ice cover hits record low in February

DEMOCRACY
Dramatic increase in research funding needed to counter productivity slowdown in farming

On the Mongolian steppe, climate change pushes herders to the brink

EU countries back looser rules for gene-edited crops

Enhancing agrivoltaic synergies through optimized tracking strategies

DEMOCRACY
Florence averts disaster thanks to key floodgate

Quake damages buildings, sparks panic in Italy's Naples

Toll from US weekend tornadoes rises to at least 40

Guatemala volcanic eruption deemed over after spewing lava, evacuations

DEMOCRACY
Sudan army makes gains as battle for Khartoum intensifies

Sudan paramilitary shelling kills six in key city: medic

EU, South Africa leaders vow deeper ties amid US threats

France begins handover of military bases to Senegal: embassy

DEMOCRACY
When did human language emerge?

Earliest evidence of human habitation in rainforests uncovered

Pentagon orders removal of pro-diversity online content

The quest to extend human life is both fascinating and fraught with moral peril

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.