The end of liberal media tyranny Voice of America and Radio Free Europe consigned to the backwaters of history

We previously reported that President Trump had issued an order suspending the activities of USAID. More recently, it has come to light that the 47th President of the United States has gone even further, deciding to halt funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). This means that propaganda outlets operating under its aegis, such as Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, have effectively ceased operations. Employees have been placed on indefinite leave, and the organisations' doors have been sealed shut.

The White House has stated that Voice of America was defunded due to its dissemination of radical propaganda. Various American media outlets have cited statements from journalists, politicians, and media sources alleging that Voice of America violated journalistic standards. One example frequently mentioned is a VOA publication from July 2020, in which its materials were deemed overly favourable to Trump's election opponent, Joe Biden.

Last month, Elon Musk made a high-profile statement calling for the closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America. “Yes, shut them down. Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Hello?? Nobody listens to them anymore,” he wrote on the social media platform X, supporting discussions about dismantling Radio Free Europe in Europe. In his view, these radio stations are run by “crazy” radical leftists who are essentially “talking to themselves.” Meanwhile, both organisations spend approximately $1 billion annually from the U.S. taxpayers’ budget.

It is worth noting that Voice of America was founded in the 1940s, while Radio Free Europe was established in 1950. Until the early 1970s, Radio Free Europe was financed through the CIA budget, as U.S. law prevented Congress from directly funding private organisations.

Like all reasonable people in Azerbaijan, we welcome Trump's decision to stop funding these media outlets from the state budget. Not because we are against freedom of speech, but because these media platforms, hiding behind false democratic slogans, have themselves acted in contradiction to the principles of democracy, peaceful coexistence of nations, and sovereign states. For decades, these organisations have orchestrated smear campaigns against various countries and peoples, including Azerbaijan. Their goal was not to defend freedom but to weaken sovereign nations and create chaos, allowing representatives of the global liberal elite to seize power.

I won’t be disingenuous: there was a time when we Azerbaijanis, like other citizens of the Soviet Union, eagerly tuned in to Radio Free Europe and Voice of America on outdated transistor radios. We did not realise then that their true aim was not to bring us freedom but to dismantle our traditional foundations. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they no longer wanted strong states to emerge from its ruins—on the contrary, they sought to install puppet regimes. It was with this objective that they supported “colour revolutions,” promoting leaders favourable to Washington.

For many years, sensible people in Azerbaijan have been exposing the true intentions of these media outlets and their local agents of influence. It is telling that when Azerbaijan’s National Television and Radio Council decided to stop broadcasting Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, and the BBC on national frequencies as of January 1, 2008, defenders of these outlets—both inside and outside the country—immediately decried the move as a "political decision" and an "attack on press freedom." Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Let’s recall how Western media and politicians reacted with outrage when Georgia exercised its sovereign right to pass a law restricting foreign interference in its internal affairs. Or how Baku was vilified for bringing order to the operations of NGOs within Azerbaijan!

Unrestrained liberal propaganda continued unchecked until a movement within the U.S. itself emerged to challenge the bloated liberal elites. The culmination of this struggle was Donald Trump’s re-election as president. Now, the time has come for America to rid itself of the “snake in its nest.”

Today, these organisations have ended up exactly where they belong—on the backwaters of history.