Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Feb. 9 called for shutting down U.S.-funded media outlets Radio Free Europe and Voice of America.
Responding to comments by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell, Musk wrote on X: "Yes, shut them down. Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Nobody listens to them anymore. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money."
"Radio Free Europe and Voice of America are media outlets paid for by the American taxpayers. It is state-owned media. These outlets are filled with far left activists," Grenell reportedly said on Feb. 9. "I’ve worked with these reporters for decades. It’s a relic of the past. We don’t need government paid media outlets."
Both Elon Musk and Richard Grenell have voiced strong opposition to government funding of media organizations, arguing that taxpayer money should not be used to support these outlets.
Musk, as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has criticized federal payments to media organizations like Politico, the Associated Press, and The New York Times, deeming them inefficient uses of taxpayer funds and moving to eliminate them.
Similarly, Grenell, as Trump’s special mission envoy, has publicly condemned government spending on media subscriptions, echoing Musk's stance that such funding should be terminated immediately.
These calls come amid broader scrutiny and controversy surrounding government-funded media, with the Trump administration taking steps to halt subscriptions to outlets like Politico.
Daria Shulzhenko
(Updated: )
