President Donald Trump's decision to freeze US-funded media outlets, including Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe, risks "benefitting adversaries", the EU has said. Meanwhile, countries like China and Cambodia praised the move, accusing the outlets of "biased" reporting and "fake news".
The Trump administration has begun mass layoffs at US-based broadcasters just two days after signing an executive order gutting the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), in his latest sweeping spending cuts.
The White House said the cuts would ensure "taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda," marking a dramatic tone shift towards the networks established to extend US influence overseas.
USAGM oversees media such as Voice of America (VOA) which broadcasts in 48 languages and reaches 360 million people each week.
The Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was set up by Washington during the Cold War to counter Soviet propaganda and reaches almost 50 million people weekly.
Radio Free Asia, created to provide reporting to China, North Korea and other countries with heavily restricted press is also affected by the cuts.
"We see these media outlets really as beacons of truth, of democracy, and of hope for millions of people around the world," said European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho.
Trump freezes US-funded media outlets including Voice of America
'Benefitting our common enemies'
"Freedom of the press... is critical for democracy. And this decision risks benefitting our common adversaries," she said without naming countries, groups or individuals.
Asked whether the European Union would "fill the void" left by the United States, Pinho said it would not always be possible for the bloc to do so.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that the US-funded outlets "remain among the few free sources of information for those living in oppression".
"Silencing them would not just be a loss for them, but for all of us who believe in democracy," he added.
His country has been the home of RFE/RL since its 1995 move from Munich, and he said he had raised the question of how to keep it running, "including the possibility of buying it," he told AFP.
'Vital source of balanced information'
Partner public media organisations and advocacy groups in Europe also voiced alarm over Trump's funding freeze.
"This move threatens to deprive millions of people worldwide of a vital source of balanced and verified information – especially in countries where independent journalism is scarce or nonexistent," RFI's parent company France Medias Monde and Germany's Deutsche Welle said in a joint statement.
"This action is particularly concerning given the United States' long-standing role as a champion of press freedom."
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French NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) director general Thibaut Bruttin condemned the US decision, saying the Trump administration "is sending a chilling signal: authoritarian regimes such as Beijing and Moscow now have free rein to spread their propaganda unchecked."
He also said the decision "betrays" the nine USAGM journalists jailed in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Myanmar, Russia and Vietnam and "leaves thousands more jobless and in danger" because of their work.
China, Cambodia pleased
Asked about Trump's decision during a daily news briefing, China's foreign ministry said it did not comment on domestic policies of the US government.
But spokeswoman Mao Ning said that "some of the US media mentioned have a notorious track record in reporting on China."
China has frequently criticised Western media reporting on the country as "biased" and it heavily restricts the operations of domestic news outlets.
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Radio Free Asia has reported extensively in recent years on issues highly sensitive to Beijing authorities and other autocratic leaders in Asia.
It reports in a wide range of languages spoken in China, including Tibetan and Uyghur as well as Mandarin and Cantonese.
In Cambodia, Hun Sen, who ruled with an iron fist for nearly four decades, welcomed the move to cut funding, praising Trump for "his courage to lead the world in combating fake news, starting with news outlets funded by the US government".
The former leader shut down multiple independent media outlets and has been the subject of critical reporting by VOA and Radio Free Asia.
Challenge for Congress
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, 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?" Curtis asked.
She said a pro bono legal team was challenging the authority to cut the funding, which was appropriated by Congress.
(with newswires)
