The United States-funded Voice of America (VOA) has gone off air in Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, and several other African countries after President Donald Trump cut financial support to the global broadcaster.
The shutdown, first noticed by millions of listeners in northern Nigeria, sparked panic when music began playing in place of scheduled broadcasts, a haunting reminder in the region of military coups or political takeovers. "People started calling in, worried that there had been a coup in America," said Babangida Jibrin, a journalist who previously worked with VOA's now-defunct Hausa-language service, as quoted by Daily Trust.
The station's abrupt disappearance from the airwaves last month left stunned reporters scrambling to explain what had happened to their loyal audience.
Founded during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA later became a major player in Cold War-era broadcasting, offering an American perspective against Soviet disinformation.
