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Multiple workers at #VoiceOfAmerica, an international #media broadcaster that operates in >40 languages, shared w/Reuters an email that placed them on administrative leave w/full pay & benefits "until otherwise notified."

The emails, sent by a HR executive at the #US Agency for Global Media, the #VOA's parent agency, instructed them not to enter their work premises or access internal systems.

The #USAGM also terminated funding for #RadioFreeEurope / #RadioLiberty, which broadcasts to countries in #EasternEurope, including #Russia & #Ukraine, as well as for #RadioFreeAsia, which broadcasts to #China & #NorthKorea, acc/to letters seen by Reuters.

On its website, #RadioFreeEurope / #RadioLiberty notes that it has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian govt & warns readers in #Russia & Russia-occupied #Ukraine that they could "face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us."

The move follows #Trump signing an #ExecutiveOrder on Friday instructing #USAGM & six other little-known agencies to reduce their operations to the bare minimum mandated by the law, saying it was necessary to *shrink bureaucracy* [stop informing the public].

Trump, who clashed w/the #VoiceOfAmerica during his 1st term, picked fmr news anchor #KariLake to be its director for his 2nd term. Lake, a staunch Trump ally, has often accused *mainstream* #media of harboring anti-Trump bias.

The president of the #NationalPressClub in Washington, Mike Balsamo, released a statement on social media objecting to the moves at #VOA.

"For decades, #VoiceOfAmerica has delivered fact-based, independent #journalism to audiences worldwide, often in places where press freedom does not exist," Balsamo said.

The decision, he said, "undermines America's commitment to a free & independent press."

The Paris-based #ReportersWithoutBorders also blasted the move, w/its director general, Thibaut Bruttin, saying that it "threatens press freedom worldwide & negates 80 years of American history in supporting a free flow of #information."

Some #Republicans have accused #VOA & other publicly-funded #media outlets of being biased against *conservatives* [liars, criminals & extremists]. Last month, billionaire #ElonMusk, who is spearheading #Trump's government *downsizing* [destruction] effort, called for VOA & #RadioFreeEurope / #RadioLiberty to be shut down in a post to social media.

In addition to #USAGM, #Trump's order also targeted the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service [#FMCS], the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars [#WilsonCenter], the Institute of #Museum & #Library Services [#IMLS], the US Interagency Council on #Homelessness [#USICH], the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund [#CDFIfund], & the Minority Business Development Agency [#MBDA] for cuts.

#Trump’s #ExecutiveOrder said those agencies should eliminate all operations not codified in #statute as well as "reduce the performance of their statutory functions & associated personnel to the minimum presence & function required by #law."

So far, #Musk's #DOGE has produced potential cuts of >100k #jobs across the 2.3M-member federal civilian workforce, the freezing of #ForeignAid, & the cancellation of thousands of programs & contracts.

On Friday, several #DOGE employees arrived at the #UnitedStates Institute of #Peace [#USIP], accompanied by 2 #FBI agents, according to Gonzo Gallegos, the institute's communications director. They left after a brief discussion about the institute's status.

The institute is not part of the federal #ExecutiveBranch, but is instead an #independent, #nonprofit agency that was established by #Congress in 1984.