The U.S. Agency for Global Media says its programming reached 410 million people in fiscal 2022.
“The audience grew by 16 million adults, in the face of a global environment where autocratic regimes are increasingly impeding access to independent media or criminalizing its consumption,” it said in a summary.
The agency provided the information in a performance update to Congress this month.
CEO Amanda Bennett said the growth “proves what we’ve long known — that people will go to great lengths to seek out the truth.”
USAGM’s networks are the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
The agency said it saw notable increases in Nigeria and Latin America as well as in countries of national security interest including Afghanistan, Russia and Iran.
“A sixth USAGM entity, the Open Technology Fund, provides tools to help audiences overcome internet restrictions and surveillance. In FY 2022, visits to USAGM networks’ websites through OTF-supported anti-censorship technologies almost doubled to more than 13 million per week.”