These situations show that cyber armies and trolls have become tools of regimes and governments across Southeast Asia, growing more sophisticated over time in serving their political interests. To counter these operations, media freedom and freedom of speech must be protected. However, this is particularly challenging given the political situations in several countries in the region. In Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam, for example, independent media and regime critics are regularly harassed and prosecuted in a highly repressive environment. Meanwhile, pro-government outlets and cyber troopers face few constraints and can dominate the information space with little effective opposition. In 2025, one of the factors that further contributed to the shrinking space for facts was the withdrawal of funding from the U.S. government under Donald Trump for media outlets, including Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA). RFA13 and VOA14 shut down in October 2025 following disruptions in their operations earlier in the year15, 16, 17. Their decision to cease operations was also driven by the government shutdown, which occurred when the U.S. Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year. BenarNews, which operates under Radio Free Asia, announced a pause in its operations in April 202518. The shutdown of these outlets is a win for authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia. In a Facebook post, Cambodia’s Hun Sen, for example, described the closure of U.S.-funded outlets as “a major contribution to eliminating fake news, disinformation, lies, distortions, incitement, and chaos around the world.”19 In 2017, RFA closed its Phnom Penh bureau amid an intense media crackdown by Hun Sen’s regime20. Its website was blocked in Cambodia following Hun Sen’s order in 202321. “RFA Suspends Remaining Editorial Operations Amid Funding Uncertainty.” Radio Free Asia, 29 Oct. 2025, www.rfa.org/english/about/releases/2025/10/29/rfa-suspends-remaining-editorial-operations. 14. Mackintosh, Thomas, and Merlyn Thomas. “Trump Moves to Close Down Voice of America.” BBC News, 17 Mar. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvge4l109r3o. 15. Kim, Minho. “Voice of America Stops All Broadcasting After Government Shuts Down.” The New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/us/politics/voice-america-shutdown.html. 16. “RFA Operations May Cease Following Federal Grants Termination.” Radio Free Asia, 15 Mar. 2025, www. rfa.org/english/china/2025/03/15/radio-free-asia-voa-rfa-usagm-executive-order-federal-grants-termination. 17. Folkenflik, David. “From 1,300 to 81 Workers: Trump Official Plans to Cut Voice of America to the Bone.” NPR, 6 June 2025, www.npr.org/2025/06/06/nx-s1-5424581/voa-job-cuts-kari-lake. 18. “Letter from Editors: BenarNews Pauses Operations.” BenarNews, 2 Apr. 2025, www.benarnews.org/english/ world/asia/2025/06/22/letter-from-editors-benarnews-pauses-operations-04022025104657. 19. “Chinese Media, Hun Sen Celebrate White House Order to Close US-Funded News Outlets.” Radio Free Asia, 17 Mar. 2025, www.rfa.org/english/asia/2025/03/17/rfa-hun-sen-china. 20. “RFA Closes Phnom Penh Bureau Amid Crackdown by Hun Sen.” Radio Free Asia, 12 Sep. 2017, www.rfa. org/english/news/cambodia/crackdown-raf-09122017084157.html. 21. “Hun Sen’s Government Orders RFA, Other News Outlet Websites Blocked.” Radio Free Asia, 17 July 2023, www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/media-sites-blocked-07172023171743.html. 13. 13