President Donald Trump called for the defunding of NPR and PBS, just hours after House Republicans grilled NPR CEO Katherine Maher over the outlet’s bias and her involvement in Wikipedia’s suppression of information.
“NPR and PBS, two horrible and completely biased platforms (Networks!), should be DEFUNDED by Congress, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote in a statement posted Thursday morning. “Republicans, don’t miss this opportunity to rid our Country of this giant SCAM, both being arms of the Radical Left Democrat Party. JUST SAY NO AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump’s remarks came after the House DOGE subcommittee held a hearing about the federal funding of NPR and PBS. During the hearing, Subcommittee Chair Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) grilled Maher, the former Wikimedia Foundation CEO, on her work to censor information on Wikipedia—as exposed by MRC Free Speech America.
“In 2021, you called the First Amendment the ‘number one challenge’ in American journalism because it makes it hard to crack down on ‘bad information,’" Green said. “You said in a TED Talks that our ‘reverence’ for the truth might be a distraction. You’ve also expressed support for deplatforming individuals you view as ‘fascists.’ Who do you think should be charged with cracking down on so-called bad information? Is it NPR? Is it the government?”
Maher deceptively replied, “Absolutely not, I'm a very strong believer in free speech.”
NPR CEO Katherine Maher insists to @RepMTG she’s “a very strong believer in free speech” and believes in “more speech,” adding “Wikipedia never censored any information” when she was its CEO.#DefundNPR NOW!
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 26, 2025
Join us here: https://t.co/Fh0oBs8reL pic.twitter.com/NW1SKPqWuB
In response, Greene cited Maher’s previous comments about her “active” approach to regulating online information during her leadership of Wikipedia, including discussions with government officials about these efforts.
“Wikipedia never censored any information,” Maher misleadingly claimed. An MRC study found that Wikipedia effectively blacklisted all right-leaning outlets as source material over claims of unreliability.
This list, called the "Reliable sources/Perennial sources" list, was first created under Maher’s leadership. “The once reliable online encyclopedia ran off the rails under the leadership of its previous CEO Katherine Maher, who made sure that not a single right-leaning outlet was deemed ‘reliable’—a stark contrast to the 84 percent of leftist media Wikipedia deems reliable,” according to the MRC report.
EXCLUSIVE: Wikipedia Effectively Blacklists ALL Right-Leaning Media; Smearing Trump, GOP and Conservatives
Equally as bad, a follow-up study found that the online encyclopedia launched a blatant smearing of President Donald Trump’s cabinet officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel and DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard.
During the hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) called out NPR’s shameless participation in the campaign to label the Hunter Biden laptop scandal “disinformation,” which NPR claimed lacked credibility and raised “red flags.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted to censoring the story under government pressure, after the media played a major role in discrediting it.
Maher’s feeble defense was: “NPR acknowledges that we were mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner.”
Free speech is under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech and government be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for alternative viewpoints. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
Editor's Note: This article has been edited for clarity concerning the "Reliable sources/Perennial sources" list.
