#Voice Of America

[saywhat-politics]

Trump adviser Kari Lake and the U.S. Agency for Global Media aren't just defendants in five federal court battles.

They're on the defensive.

In two temporary – but consequential – decisions this week, federal judges dealt blows to Lake's drive to dismantle five government-funded international broadcasters that are overseen by USAGM.

On Friday, U.S. Judge J. Paul Oetken in Manhattan issued a temporary restraining order against Lake, the agency, and its acting chief, Victor Morales, saying they could take no additional steps to shutter the Voice of America, the oldest of the five networks. The agency has already indefinitely suspended Voice of America's full-time workforce and terminated all its contractual employees.

[otakuvampyre]

I mean, just cuz something started as something doesn't mean it can't change. It HAS been over 70 years. If it all took to be immune to people co-opting something for their own purposes is to say "I hate Nazis" we wouldn't have the left displaying hypocrisy in regards to the Israeli Palestine conflict.

That being said, I haven't looked into this enough to say whether or not Voice of America has remained on its original goal or not.

Nazi propaganda and Trump propaganda are the same thing. Republicans are too busy licking boots to say anything.

[victusinveritas]

"Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth." -opening to Voice of America broadcast from 1942.

Predictably, the Nazis in power have shut down two things that tended to do more good than harm in world politics.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

David Folkenflik at NPR:

Journalists showed up at the Voice of America today to broadcast their programs only to be told they had been locked out: Federal officials had embarked on indefinite mass suspensions. All full-time staffers at the Voice of America and the Office for Cuba Broadcasting, which runs Radio and Television Martí, were affected — more than 1,000 employees. The move followed a late Friday night edict from President Trump that its parent agency, called the U.S. Agency for Global Media, must eliminate all activities that are not required by law. In addition, under the leadership of Trump appointees, the agency has severed all contracts for the privately incorporated international broadcasters it funds, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. The termination notices for grants for the funded networks, two of which were reviewed by NPR, carried the signature of Trump's senior adviser Kari Lake, whom he placed at USAGM, not the agency's acting chief executive. Lake does not appear in her current job to have the statutory authority to carry out that termination. "I am deeply saddened that for the 1st time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced," the network's director, Michael Abramowitz, said in a statement posted on his personal Facebook account. "VOA needs thoughtful reform and we have made progress in that regard. But today's action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission." He wrote that he was among those 1,300 journalists, producers and support staff put on leave. Grant Turner, the former chief financial officer at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, called it "Bloody Saturday" for the agency and its networks.

'Arsonists just set fire to it'

"From what I hear, this is shaping up to be a really sad day. USAGM networks share important news, information and American values around the world," Turner said. "It took decades to build this goodwill and an audience of hundreds of millions every week. Seeing arsonists just set fire to it all is awful." "The cancellation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's grant agreement would be a massive gift to America's enemies," Steve Capus, the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said in a statement today shared with NPR. "The Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years. Handing our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker. We've benefitted from strong bipartisan support throughout RFE/RL's storied history. Without us, the nearly 50 million people in closed societies who depend on us for accurate news and information each week won't have access to the truth about America and the world." Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz declined to comment but acknowledged he had been among those put on indefinite paid leave. This story is based on interviews with 16 current and former employees of the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the networks it funds. Almost all spoke on condition they not be named due to fear of professional retribution. NPR has reviewed internal notifications about the suspensions and the killed contracts. Similar notices reviewed by NPR have been received by hundreds of contractors at the Voice of America as well today. USAGM and the White House did not reply to requests for comment. A deputy White House spokesperson tweeted "Goodbye" in 20 languages over a link to a story from 2023 over a controversy at the Voice of America about how to characterize Hamas. Taken together, the federally-funded broadcasters and their sister networks covering the Middle East and Cuba reach 420 million people in 63 languages and more than 100 countries each week, according to the agency. They are fully funded by federal dollars. The networks' mission is to deliver news coverage and cultural programming to places where a free press is threatened or doesn't exist. They are also designed as a form of soft diplomacy, modeling independent journalism that incorporates dissent from government policy.

Trump's friends in Moscow and Budapest aggrieved by network coverage

The Voice of America sparked Trump's ire in his first term in office over reporting on Covid-19. His appointee as chief executive for U.S. Agency for Global Media embarked on a series of suspensions, visa revocations and investigations that were found, in some instances, to violate the law and federal policy. This time, Trump's budget-slashing adviser, Elon Musk, and other administration officials have called for Voice of America and some of the sister networks to be shut down. The scope and legality of these acts are not yet in full focus, but they appear to be designed to gut them and place whatever coverage survives under tighter control of politically appointed officials. Trump placed Lake, a two-time unsuccessful MAGA candidate, as his senior adviser over USAGM. She did not reply to a detailed request for comment for this story. USAGM's media relations team has not replied to NPR's repeated and detailed requests for comment about developments at the networks in recent days, including today. Trump's pick to lead the agency permanently, the conservative media critic L. Brent Bozell III, has not yet been scheduled for confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate.

Free press-hating Orange Führer’s regime orders mass cullings of journalists working at US Agency For Global Media-owned outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.

See Also:

The Guardian: Trump sharpens attacks on US media as Voice of America employees put on administrative leave

[the-almighty-gob-john-langley]

#America First, World Last? The Perilous Path of Trade Tariffs, and the potential 'New World Order.'

When "Making America Great Again" Risks Unmaking the Global Economy.

"This scenario is not far-fetched. The seeds of division are already being sown. The United States, under the Trump administration, has pursued a protectionist trade policy that has alienated many of its allies. This policy is based on the belief that America has been treated unfairly by its trading partners and that it needs to put its own interests first."

[political-us]

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-signs-order-gut-voice-america-other-agencies-2025-03-15/

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

🤢🤮

[democracyunderground]

[saywhat-politics]

President Donald Trump is gutting U.S.-backed global media, including Voice of America, that broadcasts news to millions worldwide — and that he has long held a grudge against.

The move comes after Trump signed an executive order to hollow out a string of small government agencies and offices late Friday. The order calls for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA and a collection of other media outlets globally, to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

[colleendoran]

At the VOICE OF AMERICA, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds is featured in a video segment. With work from more than 15 comics creators (including me, my short story is highlighted at the 47 second mark) all creators volunteered their services with all proceeds donated to Ukraine refugee relief via Operation USA.

With more than $100,000 raised prior to release and another $100,000 expected to be raised before the end of this year, editor Scott Dunbier received the 2023 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for his work on this project.

You may order it HERE.

It was an honor to contribute to this project.

[victusinveritas]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lydia O'Connor at HuffPost:

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order shuttering the agency that oversees Voice of America ― a government-funded, anti-propaganda, international media outlet that’s been in operation since World War II. The order Trump signed Friday calls for the closure of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which manages VOA and other diplomatic news efforts. More than 1,300 of VOA’s journalists and other staffers were placed on administrative leave Saturday, according to a Facebook post from VOA Director Michael Abramowitz obtained by The Washington Post. Kari Lake, the Agency for Global Media’s special adviser who once called for the imprisonment of journalists, cheered its demise on social media, saying: “There’s a reason it’s referred to as ‘pound-for-pound the most corrupt agency in Washington DC.’ Because it is!” A press release from the agency was even harsher, calling it “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer — a national security risk for this nation — and irretrievably broken.” The Associated Press wire service shared Friday that the agency terminated its contracts with them, and Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Since 1942, VOA has shared news globally from the American perspective and sought to fight propaganda through the broadcasting of uncensored information to people around the world living under oppressive regimes. On its website, VOA touts itself as “the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in nearly 50 languages to an estimated weekly audience of more than 354 million people,” and emphasizes that its reporting will always be “accurate, objective, and comprehensive.”

Satan-possessed anti-American free press-destroying tyrant Donald Trump signs national security-jeopardizing executive order that closes down Voice of America, a respected outlet that provided valuable news to those in authoritarian regimes lacking vital press freedoms.

See Also:

Steady (Dan Rather): The Truth Dies with Him

Living It (Olivia Troye): Silenced.

[loislane-ana]

NEWS, ukraine, zelenskyy, IPHONE 16E, economy, nyc, states, washington, cyber crime, nvidia, roof collapse, books, drones, arts financing, ice, polls, tariffs, wall street, visas, sally ride, tiktok, commander in chief, secret service protection, forever, voice of america, nyc, snl

[geezerwench]

From 1942 to 1945, the Code Talkers were key to every major operation of the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater. The Code Talkers were Indigenous Americans who used codes based in their native languages to transmit messages that the Axis Powers never cracked.

The erasure of Indigenous, Black, Hispanic, and female veterans from our military history is an attempt to elevate white men as the sole actors in our history. It is also an attempt to erase a vision of a nation in which Americans of all backgrounds come together to work—and fight—for the common good.

FEMA:

Trump has suggested “fundamentally overhauling or reforming” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or even getting rid of it entirely, turning emergency relief over to the states. A new analysis by the Carnegie Disaster Dollar Database shows that Republican-dominated states receive a lot of that assistance.

[saywhat-politics]

Voice of America journalists speak out after Trump administration shuts down network

Tonight, the Voice of America is silent. The storied broadcaster was launched in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, but two weeks ago president Donald Trump usurped Congress' authority and signed an executive order effectively shutting down the taxpayer funded broadcaster for what the White House calls "radical propaganda." Friday, a federal judge put any further actions by the administration on hold. Over the decades VOA has projected American values globally, and for hundreds of millions it was the place to find fact-based news about America and the world in their own languages. It all came crashing down in a single day.