The U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has fired over 600 employees of Voice of America (VOA), a U.S.-government-funded global broadcaster, sparking a wave of criticism both within and outside the country.
According to internal sources, layoff notices were delivered to at least 639 employees on Friday, including those in the Persian-language service. Some journalists were reportedly escorted out of the VOA office after stepping out briefly for a cigarette break and were barred from returning. Their security badges were seized on the spot.
VOA, a platform that has delivered international news since World War II, has long been recognized for its unbiased, multilingual journalism, particularly in regions where media freedom is severely limited.
Trump’s senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Kari Lake, defended the mass sackings as a necessary overhaul.
“For decades, American taxpayers have been forced to bankroll an agency that’s been riddled with dysfunction, bias and waste,” Lake said in a statement. “That ends now.”
The VOA was originally established during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, and it evolved into a powerful Cold War tool against Soviet misinformation. Over the years, it has maintained its relevance by promoting democratic values in authoritarian territories.
Critics, however, are calling the decision an intentional attack on independent media. The Trump administration has also pushed Congress to cut funding to other public broadcasters like PBS and NPR, raising further alarm.
“Even those of us suing the administration over the agency’s dismantling got termination letters,” said a VOA journalist, who spoke under condition of anonymity.
This isn’t the first indication of a VOA collapse. In April, Sahara Reporters documented a mysterious broadcast blackout across Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, and Cameroon. Shortwave radio stations suddenly went silent, replaced by eerie music, confusing listeners in regions heavily dependent on VOA for news.
“People started calling in, worried that there had been a coup in America,” said Babangida Jibrin, a former VOA Hausa journalist.
The Hausa service was especially vital in Nigeria’s northern regions, where insurgency has limited reliable local media. Now, many communities face a stark information vacuum.
“People are now cut off from the world, especially from critical international news,” lamented Moussa Jaharou, a resident of southern Niger. “It’s a deliberate silencing of the poor.”
With internet access extremely limited in many rural areas, VOA’s radio broadcasts were often the only trusted news source.
The sackings have added fuel to widespread protests across the United States. Over 1,100 rallies under the “Hands Off!” campaign are scheduled in all 50 states this weekend.
More than 150 advocacy groups, including the ACLU, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Service Employees International Union, have pledged support for the protests. They are demanding an end to what they call the Trump administration’s systematic destruction of federal agencies, including Social Security, Medicaid, and public broadcasting.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has increasingly influenced federal staffing decisions under Trump, may have played a role in orchestrating the layoffs.
As the protests mount and global concern over pess freedom rises, the future of Voice of America—and the millions who rely on it for news—remains uncertain.
