Trump's dangerous erosion of America's soft power

As a lifelong communications professional and adjunct professor at New York’s two largest community colleges, I teach my students that the most powerful tool in the world isn't a weapon — it’s a word. Or more specifically, a free press.

That’s why I’m alarmed by the Trump administration’s executive order dismantling the United States Agency for Global Media, the parent agency of Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia, and other respected international broadcasters. This isn’t a routine budget cut or bureaucratic reshuffling. The order resulted in the firing of more than 1,300 staffers, a devastating blow to America’s global communications infrastructure and a silencing of key journalistic voices.

These outlets are not partisan tools. They are essential platforms of U.S. soft power — our ability to influence global audiences through transparency, storytelling, and the steady, credible voice of truth.

In places where information is censored or distorted by authoritarian regimes, U.S.-funded media outlets offer a lifeline of fact-based journalism. They tell stories local governments suppress, giving voice to the voiceless.

Cutting off funding and dismissing reporters doesn’t just dim that light — it creates a void that disinformation eagerly fills. Propaganda gains traction when truth retreats. That’s not a cost-saving move — it's a gift to autocrats.

Consider countries like Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea, where state media dominates and dissenting voices are criminalized. For many citizens in those regions, the only window to objective facts comes from VOA or RFE/RL. Undermining these institutions doesn’t advance American interests — it weakens them.

That’s why Kari Lake’s recent announcement should raise alarms. As a senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, she authorized a partnership with One America News (OAN) to provide content for Voice of America and Radio Martí. OAN’s hyper-partisan programming and history of spreading conspiracy theories run counter to the charter of these broadcasters. Critics see this move as a dangerous politicization of journalism — exactly the kind of shift that empowers authoritarian regimes and erodes U.S. credibility abroad.

We’ve seen this before. Adolf Hitler rose not just through violence, but through control of the media. He understood the power of narrative — of silencing dissent and normalizing falsehoods. History tells us that when independent media is destroyed, democracy soon follows.

The road to authoritarianism rarely begins with tanks. It begins with the quiet dismantling of the institutions that hold power to account.

Soft power — leading through inspiration and storytelling — has long been America’s strength on the international stage. It promotes democracy not with threats, but with ideas.

When we let that soft power wither, we create a vacuum. And hostile forces are always ready to fill it.

We must remember: Journalism that reaches those with no other access to facts isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. If VOA and RFE/RL go dark, the consequences won’t stop at foreign borders. When truth is silenced anywhere, freedom is at risk everywhere.

Now is not the time to retreat from the world. It’s the time to reaffirm our values, defend our institutions, and preserve the voices that speak truth to power. Anything less is a concession to those who fear an informed world — and a betrayal of the ideals we claim to uphold.

This guest essay reflects the views of Mark J. Grossman, a Long Island-based communications consultant and adjunct professor of communications at Nassau and Suffolk community colleges.