TRANSCRIPT:
The U.S. declined sharply this year [in RSF’s annual press freedom rankings]. In 2025, we were 57th. And now, in 2026, we’re 64th. That’s a drop of seven points. It’s the sharpest decline since we started recording the index. The U.S. was number 17 when we started. And so, this has been a long trend, but we’ve never really seen an attack on the freedom of the press like we have in the last year.
The Trump administration has been incredibly hostile to Voice of America. They’ve tried to defund the entire U.S. Agency for Global Media and zero out the funding for Voice of America and the grantees. We are fighting back. We are suing the U.S. Agency for Global Media to restore Voice of America, alongside some very brave Voice of America journalists and unions.
And we have seen every step of the way how this is an illegal attempt by the Trump administration to destroy Voice of America, going against the Charter, going against the intent of Voice of America to provide reliable reporting around the world. And so, we do see hope, we do see light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a fight, and it’s a fight that we shouldn’t need to have. We think that [the] Trump administration is really trying to destroy Voice of America’s ability to provide much needed reporting around the world.
I think a really dangerous impact of turning the U.S. Agency for Global Media and Voice of America into a propaganda outlet, or putting it under the State Department, is you lose that trust. And it’s very hard to rebuild trust once people start turning away from an outlet. And so it’s really urgent that Voice of America stays independent, that the Firewall remains strong. And we’re working with Voice of America journalists and others to retain that Firewall.
Published
Grazda is the advocacy manager at Reporters Without Borders USA, where he works on press freedom and freedom of expression in the United States and globally. He previously worked on internet freedom, whistleblower support and humanitarian issues.