Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is an American state-funded media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL operates 21 local bureaus with over 500 core staff. Founded during the Cold War, RFE began in 1949 targeting Soviet satellite states, while RL, established in 1951, focused on the Soviet Union. Initially funded covertly by the CIA until 1972, the two merged in 1976. RFE/RL was headquartered in Munich from 1949 to 1995, with additional broadcasts from Portugal's Glória do Ribatejo until 1996. Soviet authorities jammed their signals, and communist regimes often infiltrated their operations. RFE/RL is a private 501 corporation supervised by the United States Agency for Global Media, which oversees all government-supported international broadcasting. Since the Revolutions of 1989 and the Soviet Union's dissolution, the organization's European presence has been reduced. On 15 March 2025, the United States Agency for Global Media terminated grants to RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia following a directive from the Trump administration.