Peter Limbourg, the Director General of Deutsche Welle, has criticized the US government's decision to reduce funding for state-backed foreign broadcasting programs. He warned that such reduced investment would likely lead to increased influence of authoritarian governments like Russia and China in the information space. Limbourg emphasized that the cuts risk not only the future of important broadcasters like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty but also leave a dangerous gap that could be filled by disinformation propagators, necessitating a strong response from European leaders in terms of funding their own international media initiatives.
Limbourg warned that authoritarian governments such as Moscow and Beijing would seek to fill the gap left by any US retreat from state-funded international broadcasting.
He emphasized that political leaders in Europe needed to ensure adequate funding for their own foreign media in light of the risks presented by disinformation.
Limbourg stated, "What Trump has done is weakened freedom and strengthened autocracy," stressing the necessity for Europe to intervene in media funding.
The USAGM, with its reach to 420 million people weekly, faces drastic cuts under Trump's executive order, threatening international broadcasting globally.
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