"The decision will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda," the White House said in a statement.
The move of the American president Donald Trump to stop funding the media they are funding SAD, including Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe (RSE), caused anger and outrage.
On Saturday, journalists from Voice of America, RFE/RL and other US-funded media outlets were put on leave or otherwise told to stop working after Trump moved to effectively freeze funding for media outlets that have correspondents around the world and cover regions including Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
"These media have been a beacon of truth, democracy and hope for millions of people around the world. In an age of unmoderated content and fake news, journalism and press freedom are critical for democracy," the European Commission said.
"This decision risks benefiting our common adversaries," the EU executive added.
"I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the famous Voice of America has been silenced," said VOA director Michael Abramowitz, announcing that more than 1300 VOA journalists and employees, including himself, had been placed on administrative leave.
"A huge gift to America's enemies"
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to minimize the functions of several agencies, including the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees media outlets including Voice of America, RFE/RL, the Cuban Broadcasting Office, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Network.
"Cancelling the Radio Free Europe grant agreement will be a huge gift to America's enemies," said RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Kapus.
"Iranian ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the downfall of RFE/RL after 75 years. Victory would make them stronger and America weaker," Kapus said.
Russia has labeled VOA and RSE as undesirable foreign organizations.
Radio Free Asia is expected to begin laying off some of its staff in the coming days.
Reporters Without Borders, an international non-governmental organization, said it "condemns this decision as a departure from the historic role of the United States as a defender of free information." The non-governmental organization called on the US Congress and the international community "to take action against this unprecedented move."
The Trump administration has baselessly accused the affected media of being biased.
"The decision will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda," the White House said in a statement.
Beijing is very happy.
Chinese state media welcomed Donald Trump's move to cut public funding for the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia (RSA) news outlets, which have long reported on authoritarian regimes.
Critics called the move a setback for democracy, but Beijing's state-run Global Times condemned VOA for its "terrible track record" in reporting on China and said it had been "discarded like a dirty rag by its own government," the BBC reported.
RSA has frequently reported on the crackdown on human rights in Cambodia, whose former authoritarian ruler Hun Sen hailed Trump's cuts as "a major contribution to eliminating fake news".
RSA was also among the first media outlets to report on China's network of detention centers in Xinjiang, where authorities are accused of imprisoning hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslims without trial. Beijing denies the claims, saying people are voluntarily attending "re-education camps" that fight "terrorism and religious extremism".
"Factory of lies"
VOA's reporting on North Korean defections and the Chinese Communist Party's alleged cover-up of Covid-19 deaths has won awards.
Voice of America, primarily a radio station that also broadcasts in Mandarin, is known for its podcast about rare protests against China's Covid-19 lockdown, but China's Global Times hailed Trump's moves, calling Voice of America a "factory of lies."
"As more Americans begin to break through their information cocoons and see the real world and multidimensional China, the demonizing narratives propagated by VOA will eventually become the object of ridicule," said an editorial published Monday.
Hu Sijin, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, wrote: "Voice of America is paralyzed! So is Radio Free Asia, which was just as mean to China. This is such great news."
Such responses "would be easy to predict," said Valdia Baraputri, a VOA reporter who lost her job over the weekend. She was previously employed by the BBC World Service.
"Removing VOA, of course, allows channels that are opposed to accurate and balanced reporting to thrive," she told the BBC.
The National Press Club, the leading representative group of American journalists, said the order "undermines America's longstanding commitment to a free and independent press."
"If Russia comes out of the war strengthened and convinced that aggression pays off, Europe can count on having 'subscribed' to similar problems in the future," warns Czech President Petr Pavel
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