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Trump Desiscion ends VOA, Radio Free Europe after 83 years

Cilvilt_beredskap

Cilvilt_beredskap

Power Poster
Joined
Apr 6, 2015
www.nytimes.com

As Trump Dismantles Voice of America, Some Broadcasts Are Replaced With Music

President Trump’s executive order on Friday calling for the dismantling of the federal agency that oversees the broadcaster is part of a wider campaign to weaken the news media.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Unsure where to put this, feels more geopolitical than political since VOA and Radio Free Europe have been constant beacons sending in languages toward authoritarian regions for people to get alternate information other than from the state. It was obviously a huge part of the soft power during the cold war, which now just is gone even though there's a very real soft power war between the US, China, and Russia. I won't say anything regarding left bias or not since I don't think that's very relevant in this case, what I do think is relevant is that Trump just decided to close it altogether without thinking of the possibilities for adversaries, who are especially gleeful since the US are shooting themselves in the foot here.

I know there's been concerns around VOA and Radio Free Europe among the GOP and Trump allies, but if they believe it's biased they might as well put in efforts to try to mitigate that I order to not close it altogether and give yet another gift to the enemies of the West in order to save money.
 
This not from Conservative or right leaning news source last summer before the election.

Lacking competent leadership, VOA cannot effectively counter Vladimir Putin’s disinformation. It even employed known former Russian propagandists who had worked for Putin’s state media, defended his invasion of Ukraine, and, in at least one case, produced antisemitic videos. In 2022, authorities in Ukraine and Poland accused a VOA freelance reporter of being a Russian spy.

This is not what Americans need, and it’s not what they are paying for. Republicans, Democrats and the White House must make a concerted effort to reform the U.S. Agency

VOA whistleblowers told congressional staffers before the hearing that some of their colleagues were privately posting “death to Israel” memes and that senior managers forbade them to call Hamas “terrorists” except in quotes.


———

and this also not from a partisan source written by a former VOA journalist of 34 years.

Add to all of this the high level of politicization in the VOA central newsroom, where a core group of Trump-hating federal employees is using every possible opportunity to attack the president and his appointees — including people he wants heading VOA and its parent agency — and it’s a bad situation.

• Dan Robinson spent 34 years with Voice of America as chief White House, congressional and foreign correspondent and head of its Myanmar service.



It would appear that the VOA has not even been a shadow of organization it was during the Cold War. From employing former Putin media apologists, down playing terrorist group activities, tacitly approving of antisemitism, to producing and distributing domestic political attacks against national candidates.
Is this what we envisioned for VOA.

Pretty sure it’s not what Ike had envisioned to be.

Did it need dissolved? Maybe not, but I believe we all are aware of how hard it can be to course correct any large multi level organization. Especially a governmental sponsored one.

What was the VOA in times past can be reconstituted again true to its original mission statement.
It seems more than clear to me it had strayed far off course and did indeed deserve to die.
 
OReid said:
This not from Conservative or right leaning news source last summer before the election.

Lacking competent leadership, VOA cannot effectively counter Vladimir Putin’s disinformation. It even employed known former Russian propagandists who had worked for Putin’s state media, defended his invasion of Ukraine, and, in at least one case, produced antisemitic videos. In 2022, authorities in Ukraine and Poland accused a VOA freelance reporter of being a Russian spy.

This is not what Americans need, and it’s not what they are paying for. Republicans, Democrats and the White House must make a concerted effort to reform the U.S. Agency

VOA whistleblowers told congressional staffers before the hearing that some of their colleagues were privately posting “death to Israel” memes and that senior managers forbade them to call Hamas “terrorists” except in quotes.


———

and this also not from a partisan source written by a former VOA journalist of 34 years.

Add to all of this the high level of politicization in the VOA central newsroom, where a core group of Trump-hating federal employees is using every possible opportunity to attack the president and his appointees — including people he wants heading VOA and its parent agency — and it’s a bad situation.

• Dan Robinson spent 34 years with Voice of America as chief White House, congressional and foreign correspondent and head of its Myanmar service.



It would appear that the VOA has not even been a shadow of organization it was during the Cold War. From employing former Putin media apologists, down playing terrorist group activities, tacitly approving of antisemitism, to producing and distributing domestic political attacks against national candidates.
Is this what we envisioned for VOA.

Pretty sure it’s not what Ike had envisioned to be.

Did it need dissolved? Maybe not, but I believe we all are aware of how hard it can be to course correct any large multi level organization. Especially a governmental sponsored one.

What was the VOA in times past can be reconstituted again true to its original mission statement.
It seems more than clear to me it had strayed far off course and did indeed deserve to die.
Click to expand...
What about Radio Free Europe/Asia, though?
 
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