Overview

• President Trump issued an executive order on May 1 to eliminate all federal funding for NPR, PBS, and related programs, citing alleged ideological bias.
• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting confirmed the cancellation of a $23 million grant for the Ready To Learn initiative, which supports educational children’s programming.
• A fake LinkedIn post claiming Elmo was laid off due to the budget cuts went viral on social media but was confirmed to be a hoax by Sesame Workshop and removed by LinkedIn.
• Sesame Workshop reaffirmed its commitment to PBS and public media funding, emphasizing the importance of educational programming for children nationwide.
• PBS CEO Paula Kerger condemned the executive order as unlawful and announced that PBS is exploring legal options to challenge the funding cuts.