An advocacy officer with a global NGO said: “Even with [Radio Free Asia], [Voice of America] getting back some of the money … it's very difficult for them to go in on the same scale, to access the same amount of people, to get back on the same waves, to use the same satellite frequencies and so on.”
Date: 4/26
Region: Global
Country: Global
Topic: Governance & Rights
Policy Lens: Democracy & Governance
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report’s original reporting, "In exile and at risk, journalists navigate life after U.S. funding cuts.” Living in hiding and facing the threat of arrest or death, these are the realities of some Southeast Asian journalists after the U.S withdrew support for independent media, Rebecca Root reports.
This quote is attributed to Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy officer of the Asia-Pacific bureau at Reporters Without Borders. As described, in March 2026 a judge ruled that shutting down Voice of America was unlawful and ordered its reinstatement. The U.S. government has reinstated various tranches of funding for 2026. This has allowed some of Radio Free Asia’s services to resume. But the damage has been done, according to Bielakowska.
Source: Devex