Voice of America says it shares a message of freedom and hope, while the Trump administration calls it ‘radical propaganda.’
President Donald Trump’s plans to cut government spending and reduce funding to public media have ruffled feathers in Washington and triggered lawsuits from journalists whose jobs at Voice of America and other tax-payer-funded media agencies have been threatened.
Trump signed an executive order on March 14, slashing funding at seven agencies and reducing their functions and staffing to the minimum required by law.
The cutbacks affect the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and agencies under its umbrella, including Voice of America (VOA), the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and nonprofit organizations Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
The cuts to VOA are being challenged in court; the administration is seeking to cut 1,200 jobs and scale the outlet back to its statutory minimum.
The VOA states its services are vital to protect U.S. interests and share America’s message of freedom and hope across the globe, while the Trump administration says the outlet has strayed from its original mission.
The day after Trump signed the order, the White House published a statement saying it will ensure American taxpayers “are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.”
The White House cited an example, stating VOA management told staff not to call Hamas and its members terrorists, “except when quoting statements.”
The administration also said VOA in May 2019 fired reporters over a live broadcast interview with a Chinese dissident that was cut short amid pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In response to a request for comment regarding the allegations and criticisms leveled at VOA, David Seide, the lead counsel for the VOA journalists who have sued the administration, said that reducing staffing and functions at Voice of America will benefit America’s adversaries.
“Over 80 years, Voice of America has built a reputation of trust for its audience of over 350 million worldwide,” Seide told The Epoch Times in a March 27 email. “Cancelling VOA kills that reputation. It produces an audience vacuum which will be filled by Iran, China, Venezuela, and North Korea.”
By Brad Jones
