President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has chosen far-right election denier and unsuccessful candidate Kari Lake to lead the federally funded international broadcast network Voice of America, a move that the government Critics say it confirms Mr. Trump’s efforts to transform the agency. Get on board to further your own interests.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said that as head of VOA, Lake would “ensure that American values of liberty and liberty are fairly and accurately conveyed around the world, unlike the lies spread by the fake news media.” I wrote it.
Lake, a former Arizona television news anchor who has sympathized with President Trump’s insidious attacks on journalists, asked him to head VOA, which he described as an “important international news organization” following the president-elect’s announcement. “I’m honored,” he wrote. We are dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people around the world and promoting democracy and truth. ” VOA, which is supposed to have editorial independence, has long faced criticism for its reporting and treatment of employees.
Although VOA’s charter states that the station “presents a balanced and comprehensive projection of important American ideas and institutions,” Lake views the network as an American propaganda channel. It was revealed that
Lake, an outspoken Trump supporter, wrote Wednesday that “under my leadership, VOA will excel in its mission to chronicle America’s accomplishments around the world.”
Hours after Trump announced he would be chosen to lead VOA, Lake praised Time magazine for naming Trump its Person of the Year, saying, “For the past 10 years, every year, “I should have been chosen,” he said.
Trump’s attempt to promote Lake to head VOA was met with a mixture of alarm and derision from journalists and watchdog groups.
“Kari Lake as Voice of America is a parody. Or a tragedy,” Robert Wiseman, co-chair of Public Citizen, wrote on social media. “VOA is important.”
Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan added: “Authoritarians love to control and instrumentalize media organizations, especially state-funded media organizations.”
“Good luck to VOA,” he wrote.
VOA is the largest federally funded international broadcaster and is overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
It’s unclear whether Trump will be able to easily install Lake as head of VOA. The Washington Post noted that “under rules passed in 2020, VOA directors are appointed by a majority vote of a seven-member advisory board.”
“Six members of the board are appointed by the president and must be approved by the Senate, and the seventh member is the secretary of state,” the paper said.
During his first term in the White House, Trump, who was chosen to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media, actively worked to influence VOA’s reporting.
The New York Times summarized Thursday: “In 2020, Trump appointed Michael Pack, an ally of former aide Stephen K. Bannon, to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media.” “Pack was accused of trying to make the Voice of America a mouthpiece for the Trump administration, and a federal judge ruled that he violated the First Amendment rights of the Voice of America’s journalists. A subsequent federal investigation found that Pack had grossly mismanaged the U.S. Agency for Global Media and repeatedly abused his power, including sidelining executives he deemed not sufficiently supportive of Trump. ”
The agenda of the far-right “Project 2025,” which some members of the incoming Trump administration helped create, includes placing the U.S. Agency for Global Media “under the supervision of the[White House National Security Council]the State Department, or the government.” Contains clauses proposing. both. “
