In the course of my reporting, I have been shot at, roughed up, and even nearly decapitated by an exploding helicopter in Eastern Ukraine,
As more Americans begin to break through their information cocoons and see a real world and a multidimensional China, the demonizing narratives propagated by VOA will ultimately become a laughingstock of the times,
To effectively shutter the Voice of America is to dim a beacon that burned bright during some of the darkest hours since 1942,
They have pulled the plug operationally,
While winding down this global government propaganda agency, it has temporarily been renamed the Department of Propaganda Everywhere (DOPE),
The cancelation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's grant agreement would be a massive gift to America's enemies
Well, we're going to be now calling the shots,
VOA was established during World War II as a propaganda broadcasting agency for foreign audiences and its prime time is during the Cold War. Since its primary focus and goal were ideological warfare, it did not prioritize the truthfulness of news. The social ethics, morals and responsibilities that a news agency should uphold were not within its scope of concern,
However, this does not mean that the US will cease its ideological war against countries [it views as foes]. They will adopt other methods, because the previous approaches no longer meet the needs of today's information warfare. Many tricks were done too superficially and have been completely exposed. Therefore, using these institutions, with now notorious reputations, to continue this task may no longer achieve the desired outcomes,
VOA served as an official media outlet and an important propaganda mouthpiece for external communication, but it has published many reports that do not align with the values that current US administration identifies, such as profit-making, white dominance and serving Americans themselves. Therefore, the US government believed it must be downsized,
We should not be paying outside news organizations to tell us what the news is,
The termination of RFA's grant is a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked in the information space,
Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now,
I have monitored the agency’s bureaucracy along with many of its reporters and concluded that it has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media,
The non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law,
VOA promotes freedom and democracy around the world by telling America’s story and by providing objective and balanced news and information, especially for those living under tyranny,
We’ve benefitted from strong bipartisan support throughout RFE/RL’s (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 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,
I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,
For decades, Voice of America has delivered fact-based, independent journalism to audiences worldwide, often in places where press freedom does not exist,
The Iranian ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years,