Donald Trump’s executive order targeting Voice of America continues to face pushback from journalists. Trump’s latest move involving the agency triggered growing resistance. The sweeping changes have led to staff cuts, legal challenges, and backlash.
Donald Trump’s agency cuts triggered intense pushback from newsroom journalists
The president has fired six out of seven members of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, which is responsible for approving the appointment of the head of VOA. According to The New Yorker, Trump appointed former TV anchor Kari Lake to run VOA’s global media operations.
Lake sought to implement the VOA executive order, which reduced VOA’s parent agency to the legally required minimum.
According to The Blast, more than 1,042 of 1,147 staff members were placed on paid leave after dismantling of its physical structure. Lake also canceled the lease for the new headquarters of VOA. Workers at transmitter sites were also instructed to shut down operations, silencing VOA for the first time in 83 years. Many journalists have reportedly found new jobs.
One former reporter who lost their job said, “Nothing exists anymore. Our identity was gone in one single second. It was a sudden questioning of my value. Who am I without all of this? I had believed in America. I didn’t care if it was Trump or Biden.”
A group of former reporters filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing them of turning VOA into a propaganda media. Reportedly, in the filing, plaintiffs alleged that VOA broadcasts to audiences in Iran, China, North Korea, and Kurdish communities have reflected the White House while minimizing stories that the Trump administration would avoid.
“Through VOA’s journalism, those living in authoritarian societies get a taste of democracy. Without editorial integrity, VOA will be no different than government mouthpieces our audiences already hear in their own country,” the filing read.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered Trump to reinstate the employees who have been placed on leave. However, employees remain suspended as the administration continues to appeal the ruling.
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT DONALD TRUMP’S VOA OVERHAUL FACING BACKLASH.
