End of an Era: US-Funded Alhurra Shuts Down as Trump Administration Cuts Media Budget
Founded in 2004 to counter what U.S. officials at the time called biased, anti-American coverage by Qatar-backed Al Jazeera, Alhurra was part of Washington’s effort to shape public opinion in the Arab world through balanced, independent journalism.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Alhurra, the U.S.-funded Arabic-language television network launched in the aftermath of the Iraq War, has announced it will cease broadcasting and lay off most of its staff after President Donald Trump, now in his second term, reinstated sweeping cuts to U.S. international media funding.
Founded in 2004 to counter what U.S. officials at the time called biased, anti-American coverage by Qatar-backed Al Jazeera, Alhurra was part of Washington’s effort to shape public opinion in the Arab world through balanced, independent journalism. The move to shut down Alhurra comes just months after Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, signaling a renewed focus on cost-cutting and skepticism toward U.S.-funded media initiatives abroad.
“Media in the Middle East thrive on a diet of anti-Americanism,” said Jeffrey Gedmin, president and CEO of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), which operates Alhurra and other smaller outlets. “It makes no sense to kill MBN as a sensible alternative and open the field to American adversaries and Islamic extremists.”
Gedmin revealed in an internal memo to staff that repeated attempts to meet with Kari Lake—now overseeing the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) under Trump’s new administration—were rebuffed. “I’m left to conclude that she is deliberately starving us of the money we need to pay you, our dedicated and hard-working staff,” he wrote. “What’s happening is a disgrace. You deserve better, and I bear responsibility for not resolving this crisis in time.”
While Alhurra will discontinue its television broadcasts, it plans to maintain a skeletal digital presence with just a few dozen staff members. The network, at its peak, claimed to reach more than 30 million viewers weekly across 22 countries, but struggled to compete with well-funded, state-backed rivals like Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya, UAE-supported Sky News Arabia, and regional heavyweight Al Jazeera.
The Trump administration's decision is part of a broader rollback of soft power tools and international media influence. The same funding freeze also impacted other U.S.-backed outlets such as Voice of America, which has mounted legal challenges to restore funding approved by Congress. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has turned to European allies like the Czech government to stay afloat, while Radio Free Asia now operates at a reduced pace.
Unlike Voice of America, which is a direct government entity, Alhurra operated through grants, offering it some editorial distance while still serving American public diplomacy objectives. Its closure raises alarms among policy experts who see a strategic vacuum in U.S. messaging to the Arab world.
Alhurra’s fall, under a second Trump presidency, underscores a shift in Washington’s priorities: away from narrative influence and soft diplomacy, and toward domestic consolidation. For many, it marks the end of a once-ambitious chapter in America’s engagement with the Middle East—leaving behind a media battlefield increasingly dominated by rivals and adversaries.
