this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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US President Donald Trump has signed an order to strip back the federally-funded news organisation Voice of America, accusing it of being "anti-Trump" and "radical".

A White House statement said the order would "ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda", and included quotes from politicians and right-wing media railing against the "leftist", "partisan" VOA.

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[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 41 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Isn't Voice of America like the USA's equivalent of Deutsche Welle?

Basically a vehicle for internationally transporting news from the US American perspective?

Trump really hates any and all soft power the USA have available.

[–] ferretfacefrankburns@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 day ago

Soft is a no-no word around Trump. He wants rock hard power, gay porn hard power.

[–] lorty@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yes, it's one of the US's propaganda presses

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[–] pyre@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

yeah totally him and not some other dipshit trying to get back to superpower status.

[–] ToiletFlushShowerScream@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Sooo... Weakening US influence around the world in order for Putin to fill the vacuum? What is Trump's Russian codename again?

[–] Quadhammer@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Pee tape kovnik

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago

Per CNN (per US Agency for Global Media), number of regular listeners, in millions, of VoA...

  • Indonesia 64.8
  • Nigeria 37.4
  • Mexico 37.1
  • India 29.1
  • Iran 12.2
  • Peru 11.9
  • Russia 10.1
  • Ukraine 9.8
  • Iraq 9.3
  • Egypt 9.0
[–] limonfiesta@lemmy.world 146 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (14 children)

I don't understand the naysayers here.

This is hilarious. Trump wants to simultaneously expand the American empire, while he dismantles the tools of it that he's too stupid to understand the importance of.

No matter their mission statement, or any tangible benefits they might have provided, both USAID and VOA, were tools of empire. These aren't mutually exclusive concepts.

[–] metaldream@sopuli.xyz 79 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Trump's mission is to weaken the US, NATO, and the EU. Eliminating VoA helps do that. Notice how he isn't threatening China with invasion, but Canada and Denmark instead.

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[–] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We're talking about a guy whose business accumen is so poor he managed to run multiple casinos into the ground. His "successful businessman" schtick has always been propped up by a mountain of debt and crime. If he had so much as two brain cells to rub together, he would have stuck with Ivana because she was the only member of the Trump family to have even a shred of sense.

[–] JacksonLamb@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Not sure he could have kept Ivana anyway given she said at the time he raped her.

[–] JacksonLamb@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Trump doesn't want to expand the American empire though. He makes noises about it, but words are cheap. Judging by his actions he wants to create chaos so oligarchs can profit.

The ultrawealthy have no national allegience.

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[–] AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

See, the thing is, those tools of empire were government-funded. Congress allocated money and resources to those tools for them to do their jobs. The intent is to eventually replace those with privately owned, profit-motivated alternatives. Why do you think they cut NOAA and NWS funding and fired all their probies? So that private companies can fill the void. Then if you want life-saving weather information in the event of a tornado or hurricane, pay a monthly subscription fee to some billionaire's weather/disaster alert service.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Everything Trump does -- everything -- suddenly makes sense when viewed through the lens of "how does Putin benefit?"

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[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 158 points 1 day ago (1 children)

How is everything that is "anti-Trump" radical? You fucking dictator.

[–] Forester@pawb.social 46 points 1 day ago

"If you smell shit everywhere you go it's probably because you're covered in it" Anon

[–] HighFructoseLowStand@lemm.ee 35 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll move against the nuclear arsenal and the Army will finally give him the boot.

[–] wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Is this sarcasm? They fired 350+ workers in charge of overseeing the nuclear stockpile before they even knew who they were firing, and nothing happened. To pretend that there is some line in the sand is, at this point, naive.

[–] Zron@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is the same country that classified its nukes so hard that the engineers couldn’t find non-redacted procedures for making a critical component of fusion bombs.

We’ve always been incompetent, now it’s just partnered with enhanced stupidity.

[–] wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 2 points 19 hours ago

Haha, ahh Fogbank, we hardly knew ye

[–] clutchmarkthree@lemm.ee 8 points 1 day ago

America. Its institutions are fairly tales.

[–] HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org 45 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It must also be weird for the sycophants who he just nominated to staff it too.

The equivalent of "Daddy got you a pink convertible and you get three minutes to drive it before the repo guy comes"

Oh no, his people will keep their jobs. He isn't getting rid of it, he's just firing anyone who does anything, and his people will come in and get paid to do nothing. It's very likely that he can't just do away with it, but he can just fire the people working there.

[–] rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 58 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Under $300 million a year to spread US propaganda to over 300 million people. That's a fucking bargain man.

This is going to give up so, SO much soft power because of a snowflake's ego. This is a bad deal.

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[–] ninjabard@lemmy.world 62 points 1 day ago (3 children)

As an American, I would like to apologize that the idiots of this country re-elected Mango Mussolini. And I'm sorry that the rest of the world has to suffer because of this idiot and his cronies.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

You don't have to self-identify as "American" if you don't want. You don't need to apologize for a system over which you have virtually no control. The first step to resisting an evil system is probably disavowal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_religion

[–] 0li0li@lemmy.world 40 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Waiting for you guys to actually use your second amendment.

[–] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 35 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Well, there was an attempt but unfortunately he wasn't a very good shot.

When they send their time travelers, they aren't sending their best.

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[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 day ago (2 children)

usagm is an independent agency. it and its predecessors, and voa, were created by congress. only congress can eliminate them

[–] M0oP0o@mander.xyz 14 points 1 day ago

Yeah, those checks and balances will kick in any day now!

Yeap, any day now.

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