
Silencing Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty is a gift to autocrats
It was not propaganda they heard, nor was it stories of life in America — that was the role of Voice of America. Rather, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty reported on life in their listeners' own countries, in their own languages, telling people what their regimes would not. First started as a Cold War tool funded by the CIA, these services were reshaped and merged into a private independent corporation under the supervision of what is now the U.S. Agency for Global Media and funded by Congress.
I served as director of research for Radio Free Europe during the momentous years of 1989 to 1991. This gave me a day-to-day, inside look at the extraordinary work done by dedicated journalists, editors, technicians and by brave freelance reporters working in the countries we covered.
It is worth remembering, especially by those disparaging Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, that roughly two-thirds of those working for these media organizations are not permanent employees but freelance reporters. These journalists risk their lives and freedom to report from countries under dictatorships, whose leaders are deeply hostile to the U.S. and even more hostile to the spread of information they don't control.
In Russia, even to call the invasion of Ukraine a 'war,' rather than a 'special military operation,' risks a prison sentence. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, in its broadcasting to Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan as well as Russia, does not regurgitate such dissembling euphemisms. That is why regimes like the one in Moscow declare them to be enemies of their states. As Mark Pomar, author of 'Cold War Radio,' put it in a recent interview, in Soviet times Radio Liberty was considered the most dangerous of Western broadcasts precisely 'because it dealt far more with domestic issues.'
As revolutionary sentiment spread across East Europe, we met every morning to go over the upcoming day's reporting. In the face of such unprecedented upheaval, the dissemination of unsupported rumors, cheerleading or fearmongering was ruled out. Stories for broadcast were based on facts that could be validated, on analysis of actual developments inside the countries. The Radio Free Europe teams supported the challenges to dictatorship, but inflammatory rhetoric was flagged by a broadcast analysis division that listened to and checked our work. At a time of crisis and a turning point in history — like now — simply reporting what was happening was powerful enough.
Radio Free Europe was and remains a 'surrogate free press' for people who live where there is none. The outlets provide a reliable, comprehensive picture of developments where people live. They inform people about things that are happening in their own country that the regimes hide or distort, thus validating people's own knowledge and experience — which is usually at odds with regime's media. More broadly, millions of listeners, viewers and readers see on a daily basis how free media should operate in a democracy.
In our contemporary environment, one might ask if radio stations are still worth supporting. In fact, the term 'radio' is misleading as the organizations publish written stories, interviews and broadcasts daily across the internet, via YouTube and podcasts on a variety of accessible media, in addition to radio. Precisely because the internet is flooded with disinformation on massive scale by Russia and other autocratic regimes, there needs to be a fact-checked, independent, authentic voice created for people who otherwise would not hear anything like the full story.
Do people in Russia know the real numbers of Russian casualties in Ukraine? Do people in Asia know what the Chinese regime is doing to its Uyghur population? They won't, unless services like Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty can stay active.
Moreover, information dissemination goes both ways. One of the most vital functions Radio Free Europe serves is to provide accurate analysis and description of what is happening in these countries and regions. People who want to know these countries and create effective policies toward them have a comprehensive source of uncensored information. The research and broadcast teams produce daily articles and reports that delve into the dynamics of countries that are not only closed but also threaten American interests.
Both those who live there, those who left and those who have to deal with these countries need an accurate picture. As Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus said, 'This is not the time to cede terrain to the propaganda and censorship of America's adversaries.'
Shutting down such a valuable service in the name of 'government efficiency' is as insulting as it is ludicrous. Elon Musk proclaimed on his own information service that 'Nobody listens to them anymore' and that they were 'just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money.' Wrong on all counts.
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty reaches 47 million people a week in 27 different languages, with more than 9 billion videos viewed. Not a bad return for an annual budget of $142 million — two-thousandths of a percent of the federal government's annual budget.
The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the division of Europe was ended not by an invading army but by an invading idea: that people have a right to know what is happening in their own land and thus a right to take part in decisions made in their name. This is anathema to every would-be autocrat who sees an enemy behind all who might disagree with them.
Autocrats know now, as they did in 1989, that they must control the information environment. America should challenge those efforts with the powerful voices we have and, at the very least, not put out of business one of our most valuable instruments of global influence.
Ronald H. Linden is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as director of the European Studies Center and director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies. He was director of research for Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany from 1989 to 1991.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
18 minutes ago
- New York Post
Dozens injured, including child, in Russian strikes using new type of bomb being tested on civilians
KHARKIV, Ukraine — Thirty-three civilians — including a 10-year-old and two teenagers — were wounded in strikes Thursday in Kharkiv, where Russian forces are testing out a new type of 'glide bomb' on innocent people. The Post was on scene as war crimes investigators, firefighters, humanitarian and emergency services arrived just minutes after the back-to-back strikes, which hit a residential apartment building and a textiles factory around 11:15 a.m. local time. 'I was just coming from my kitchen when I heard the bomb,' building resident Svetlana Shevcheko said. 'I never thought about leaving Kharkiv before, but I am thinking now.' 5 Thirty-three civilians were wounded in strikes in Kharkiv, where Russian forces are testing out a new type of 'glide bomb.' Edoardo Marangon/ZUMA Press Wire / 5 Residents leave the site of a Russian air strike. REUTERS The northeastern Ukrainian city is just 15 miles from the Russian border, so bombs and missiles can strike into the city before residents are alerted to an incoming air raid. The strike used a new kind of glide bomb, which is a repurposed Soviet-era weapon outfitted with aerodynamic wings for more targeted precision and range. The new bombs used in Kharkiv have a range of somewhere between 90 and 100 km — an increase of about 10 to 20 km — allowing Russia to strike further into the city. 5 The new bombs used in Kharkiv have a range of somewhere between 90 and 100 km, allowing Russia to strike further into the city. Edoardo Marangon/ZUMA Press Wire / 5 The glide bomb is a repurposed Soviet-era weapon with more targeted precision and range. REUTERS 5 The back-to-back strikes hit a residential apartment building and a textiles factory around 11:15 a.m. local time. REUTERS 'They are testing this out on civilians,' chief war crimes prosecutor for the Kharkiv district Spartak Borisenko told The Post. 'Patriot [air-defense systems, made by the US] are the only way to strike them down. The bombs carried 250 kg worth of explosives, he said, creating a blast radius of 500 meters.


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Weingarten, Mamdani part of the 'Star Wars Bar of leftists': Sen. Schmitt
Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri says Democratic leadership is being taken over by extreme forces like the teachers union boss and 'Communist in New York'.


Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Pam Bondi Handed Epstein Files Road Map-'Follow the Money'
Senator Ron Wyden, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, has written to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to "follow the money" and launch a fresh investigation into the financial affairs of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein using Treasury Department documents. In his letter sent on Monday, Wyden said the Department of Justice (DOJ) "failed to conduct a real investigation into the funding of Epstein's sex trafficking operation" and accused four major banks of processing "billions in suspicious transactions that flowed through Epstein's accounts" that were not flagged to the Treasury until after the financier's suicide in August 2019. Newsweek contacted Senator Wyden and the DOJ for comment on Thursday via email and online inquiry form respectively outside of regular office hours. Earlier this month the DOJ and the FBI released a joint statement insisting Epstein "died by suicide" and had "no incriminating 'client list.'" The move sparked a furious reaction from a section of President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, which has long believed Epstein was murdered to cover up the participation of prominent figures in sexual abuse. Wyden's letter shows the Trump administration will continue to face intense pressure to further investigate the Epstein case, or release documents it has concerning this, despite its apparent efforts to close down the subject. Addressing Attorney General Bondi in his letter Wyden said he was "convinced that the DOG ignored evidence found in the U.S. Treasury Department's Epstein file," which he said "contains extensive details on the mountains of cash Epstein received from prominent business owners that Epstein used to finance his criminal network." In response to what he termed "the DOJ's lack of thoroughness" Wyden provided Bondi with "a road map with a list of 'follow the money' leads on Jeffrey Epstein." Wyden noted the Senate Finance Committee on February 14 2024 reviewed "thousands of page[s] of Treasury Department files documenting the flow of money in and out of Jeffrey Epstein's accounts" which he concluded "contains significant information on the sources of funding behind Epstein's sex trafficking activities." He said this included documents showing more than 4,725 wire transfers involving Epstein's accounts from 2003 to 2019 totaling $1.08 billion. In his seven-point action plan Wyden said Bondi should "direct DOJ prosecutors and FBI agents to immediately investigate the evidence contained in the Treasury Department records on Epstein" including alleged payments of several hundred million dollars to Epstein from "ultra-wealthy Wall Street financiers." He also said the DOJ should subpoena internal records related by Epstein held by major Western banks. Another of Wyden's points urged the DOG to investigate payments of "hundreds of millions of dollars" via Russian banks that "were correlated to the movement of women or girls around the world." He also called on the department to subpoena documents from the U.S. Virgin Islands regarding a deal giving one of Epstein's associates immunity from prosecution in 2023. Wyden also said several major banks "likely broke the law" by only flagging suspect payments involving Epstein after he had been criminally charged, despite this being a requirement of federal anti-money laundering legislation. Finally Wyden urged the DOJ to "conduct depositions with bankers responsible for overseeing large accounts transacting with Jeffrey Epstein." On Wednesday The Wall Street Journal reported that in May Trump was informed that his name appeared "multiple times" in Epstein documents possessed by the DOJ by Bondi. White House communications director Steven Cheung described the report as "another fake news story." In his letter Wyden said: "Epstein clearly had access to enormous financing to operate his sex trafficking network, and the details on how he got the cash to pay for it are sitting in a Treasury Department filing cabinet." In their joint statement earlier this month the FBI and DOJ said its "systematic review" of Epstein related files "revealed no incriminating 'client list.'" They added: "There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties." Trump is likely to face further pressure to release more documents related to the Epstein case from both congressional Democrats and a section of his own MAGA base. On Tuesday House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, adjourned the lower chamber till September in a move that blocks any imminent vote on releasing the Epstein files. Related Articles Pam Bondi Cancels Speech Over Medical Issue: What We KnowFull List of Republicans Who Voted to Subpoena Epstein Files from DOJWhite House Reacts to Report That Bondi Told Trump He Was in Epstein FilesTrump Admin Request to Unseal Epstein Transcripts Turned Down by Judge 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.