Musk’s department fires Ukrainian Voice of America journalist Ostap Yarysh during inspection
Pravda Ukraine
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has dismissed journalist Ostap Yarysh from the Ukrainian service of Voice of America (VoA).
Source: Nataliia Lyhachova, editor-in-chief of Detector Media, a Ukrainian media outlet
Quote: “Ostap Yarysh has been fired from the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America. During an inspection by the DOGE department. This is only the first wave of dismissals.”
Details: Lyhachova noted that this is just the first wave of dismissals.
The New York Times previously reported that the US Agency for Global Media, the parent organisation of Voice of America, had launched an investigation into journalists who criticised President Donald Trump’s policies.
In particular, Steve Herman, a leading journalist at Voice of America, was placed on extended leave. Herman confirmed to the NYT that he had received a letter stating the investigation was focused on whether his “social media activity has undermined VoA’s audiences’ perceptions of the objectivity and/or credibility of VoA and its news operations”.
Anonymous sources also told the NYT that, in recent months, VoA had either not published or toned down some stories critical of the president and his administration.
In addition, journalists reported that Patsy Widakuswara, a longtime White House bureau chief at VoA, had been forcibly reassigned to another position. Some journalists suggest that such actions are intended to reduce conflicts with the Trump administration.
Notably, VoA is funded by the US federal budget.
Background: On 4 March, Trump threatened to cut off federal funding to any college, school or university that allows “illegal protests”. Trump stated that “agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came”. American students, depending on the severity of the offence, face either expulsion from the institution or arrest.
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