Elon Musk Calls for Closure of U.S. Funded Media Outlets

Elon Musk, the South African-born U.S. billionaire and leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), recently voiced his opinion on X (formerly Twitter), calling for the closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America (VOA), both of which are funded by the U.S. government.

His remarks followed criticism from Richard Grenell, the U.S. special envoy for special missions, who labeled these media outlets as taxpayer-funded and accused them of promoting “far-left” activities.

Grenell expressed his view that these organizations were outdated and unnecessary, stating, “Radio Free Europe and Voice of America are state-owned media. These outlets are filled with far-left activists. It’s a relic of the past. We don’t need government-paid media outlets.”

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Musk supported Grenell’s statement, adding, “Yes, close them. Europe is free now (except for the suffocating bureaucracy). No one listens to them anymore. They are just radical leftists talking to themselves while wasting American taxpayer money, about $1 billion a year.”

VOA, which was founded in 1942, is the oldest and largest U.S. international broadcaster, producing content in 48 languages across various digital, radio, and TV platforms. It also provides a special service for Zimbabwe, Studio 7, which has been broadcasting since 2003. Studio 7 serves as a vital independent news source for Zimbabweans, covering a range of topics including politics, civil society, health, sports, and the arts.

If the proposed shutdown of VOA proceeds, it could lead to job losses for over two dozen Zimbabwean journalists based in Washington.

Musk has previously criticized federal funding for media organizations such as Politico, The Associated Press, and The New York Times, arguing that such taxpayer expenditures are wasteful and inefficient.

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