The repercussions of the US’ funding freeze on foreign assistance resonate deeply in Southeast Asia, including in one of the countries where press freedom and independent reportage are most threatened.
On Jan. 20, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a 90-day freeze on all US foreign assistance. According to the Global Investigative Journalism Network, this abrupt freeze halted an estimated US$268 million in committed grants for independent media and press freedom initiatives in over 30 countries, including in some of the most repressive ones. A subsequent decision to further reduce funding for selected federal agencies sent another shockwave: one casualty is the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA) and other global news outlets.
The defunding of these services is not just a financial decision but a strategic retreat from global press freedom efforts. Meanwhile, the global press freedom crisis is exacerbated by European governments’ shifting priorities, with several countries diverting resources towards self-defense amid Russia’s conflict with Ukraine and other geopolitical flashpoints.
The impact of the Trump administration’s funding cuts is already felt. VOA, which reached 361 million people weekly, and RFA had to scale back their coverage and put most of their staff on furlough. For decades, these two outlets and others under USAGM have reported news on repressive regimes and marginalized communities to the wider international audience in multiple languages. The ending or scaling back of their operations will hinder the world’s access to information, especially when support for independent journalism is declining.
Myanmar’s independent media is another victim of this trend. The military coup on Feb. 1 annihilated Myanmar’s fragile path towards stronger press freedom that had been growing since the previous junta was disbanded in 2011. In 2021, Reporters Without Borders ranked the country at 140 out of 180 sample countries. Since then, it has hovered near the bottom 10: Myanmar was ranked 176th (2022), 173rd (2023), and 171st in 2024. Following the 2021 coup, some independent media outlets sought refuge in Thailand, now home to at least 60 exiled media houses, according to a February 2025 closed-door ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute roundtable among Myanmar media partners.
Myanmar’s independent media houses are no strangers to the junta regime’s repressive measures against press freedom. Major independent news outlets, such as The Irrawaddy, Mizzima, DVB, Myanmar Now and BNI, which together reach 20 million people globally, have operated in and out of Myanmar for decades. The junta has raided the outlets’ offices, revoked licenses, and detained journalists after the coup, forcing them to flee again, not only for safety but also to continue to report news on Myanmar. The current freezing of US aid has greatly affected such news organizations; being in self-exile, they rely largely on international donors to fund operations.
Without immediate intervention, Myanmar’s independent media sector could collapse, allowing the junta to monopolize the flow of information through state-backed media.
According to the same roundtable, major media houses have suffered budget losses of 30-35 percent due to the US’ funding freeze. While some can absorb these losses through alternative funding sources, the financial strain is deepening. At least 10 other media outlets were at risk of closure by end-February; a media consortium that once had nine members has already lost three of them. Over 200 Myanmar media professionals have been affected, with at least half facing layoffs while others have been asked to work for reduced pay. Ethnic media outlets targeted at communities such as the Chin and Karen are at severe risk of disappearing entirely, since they rely almost solely on US contributions. The impact on ethnic media could widen the gap in information access and representation for ethnic communities whose native language is not Burmese.
Despite these financial challenges, Myanmar’s exiled media community has shown resilience. The Independent Press Council of Myanmar has provided emergency relief to affected journalists with some contributions from the media houses struggling due to the funding cuts. In Mae Sot, the Thai city along the border with Myanmar, stopgap assistance has helped cover some essential food and living expenses but sustaining these efforts requires at least 1 million baht (US$29,000) per month—an increasingly difficult sum to secure over the long term. Without immediate intervention, Myanmar’s independent media sector could collapse, allowing the junta to monopolize the flow of information through state-backed media.
In response, media organizations are exploring alternative strategies to reduce their reliance on US and European government funding, which range from establishing new partnerships with philanthropic foundations to expanding subscription models, crowdfunding and digital monetization. While these solutions hold promise, they require time to develop and are unlikely to fully replace the lost US aid.
The US government’s decision to scale back media assistance reflects a broader shift in foreign policy but comes at a cost. By withdrawing financial support for independent journalism, Washington risks undermining whatever credibility it had as a defender of press freedom. The abrupt defunding and ensuing halt in assistance to exiled media organizations worldwide sends a dangerous message that the survival of independent journalism is no longer a strategic priority for the US. If other international donors do not step in to fill the funding gap, the world risks losing vital voices that speak truth to power and provide critical reporting in regions where press freedom is under attack.
At a time when disinformation and authoritarian control over media are on the rise, the retreat of US support for global independent journalism could mark the beginning of a new era in which the voices of the press are silenced, not by direct repression but by financial neglect.
Surachanee Sriyai is a Visiting Fellow with the Media, Technology and Society Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. She is the interim director of the Center for Sustainable Humanitarian Action with Displaced Ethnic Communities (SHADE) under the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Chiang Mai University.
This article was first published by Fulcrum.
