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Canada News.Net
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Trump tells Republicans to kill top US state media outlet
The president has labeled the Voice of America a left-wing disaster US President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to support his campaign to dismantle the state-funded news outlet Voice of America (VOA). Launched in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II, the broadcaster later served as a key vehicle for pro-American messaging during the Cold War. Trump has argued, however, that VOA has in recent decades veered toward partisanship, and vowed to shut it down as part of his broader push to eliminate wasteful government spending. "Why would a Republican want Democrat 'mouthpiece' Voice of America (VOA) to continue? It's a TOTAL, LEFTWING DISASTER - No Republican should vote for its survival. KILL IT!" the president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. Earlier that day, Trump's senior adviser Kari Lake told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA, was "rotten to the core" and should be reshaped to align with Trump's "America First" agenda. Committee Chairman Brian Mast described USAGM as "a cesspool of spies, lies, and mismanagement" that "has promoted the very propaganda it was created to defeat." He accused the agency of hiring foreign nationals, many of whom he said were "quite literally, security risks." Lake, who has been tasked by Trump with overseeing the dismantling of the agency, said last week that nearly 640 full-time staffers and more than 500 contractors had been laid off at USAGM and VOA. Democrats and press freedom advocates have criticized the move. "The wholesale destruction of public media outlets like Voice of America represents an unprecedented gift from Trump to the dictatorial censorship regimes in countries like China and Iran," said Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA.
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Popular condemnation
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was freed from detention at a US immigration facility last Friday after 104 days of captivity. A graduate student at Columbia University, Khalil – who is Palestinian by parentage – has an Algerian passport and permanent US residence. He was snatched without a warrant from his home in early March as he and his pregnant wife were returning from an evening out. His case attracted widespread popular condemnation. Rights groups accused the Trump administration of violation the sacrosanct First Amendment of the US Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech and assembly. Amnesty International condemned his arrest and pressed for his freedom. Amnesty's regional director Ana Piquer stated, 'We remain deeply concerned by the escalating use of detention, intimidation, deportation, and disregard to right of due process, to silence protest and chill public debate in the United States. This is not just about one student, it is about the growing pattern of authoritarian practices by the Trump administration that undermine human rights. We urge the US government to end the political targeting of students and other individuals based on their beliefs and to respect freedom of speech. Mahmoud's detention [was] a stark reminder of the human rights that are at stake in the country, and we will continue to monitor his case.' On his release, he rejoined his wife Noor Abdallah and hugged his newborn son for the first time. However, he is not a totally free man as his immigration case is ongoing and the authorities seized his passport and green card which identifies him as a legal US resident. His movements are restricted to New York and nearby states. A federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, ordered Khalil's release on bail, asserting, unconditionally: 'He is not a danger to the community. Period, full stop.' The judge accepted his lawyers' contention that his prosecution was politically motivated. Khalil had committed no crime. Officials had charged him with threatening national security by protesting US backing for Israel's Gaza war and accused him of antisemitism although Jewish students demonstrated alongside him at Columbia University and elsewhere. His high-profile arrest was the most energetically contested of multiple immigration cases levelled against foreign students who took part in these anti-war protests at US universities. Other detainees were either freed or deported from the country. His release could encourage others to fight. Khalil's release constitutes a blow to the Trump administration's campaign to dictate the US narrative and take questionable or downright illegal actions to stifle dissidence. In addition to branding protests against Israel as antisemitic and against US policies favouring Israel, Trump has nearly closed the Voice of America (VOA) by firing thousands of journalists on its staff. The administration claimed the VOA was 'riddled with dysfunction, bias, and waste. The VOA was established during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda and played the same role during the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union. Trump has followed up by cutting funding to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System which serves mainly rural communities. Critics argue the administration is taking this action to limit the public's access to independent reports and liberal, progressive views which challenge Trump's line and actions. Trump has led the charge against federal, educational, and institutional policies based on identity. These are meant to give opportunities to people of all backgrounds. These policies, dubbed 'diversity, equity and diversity,' remove gender, ethnic, religious, and educational requirements for inclusion in a wide range of activities and ensure equal treatment and pay. Trump has also issued a travel ban on visitors from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Yemen, and Sudan, and a partial travel ban on seven more. This ban affects predominantly black and brown people as well as those from Muslim-majority countries. Amnesty accused the administration of racial discrimination, creates hatred, and promotes the idea that citizens from the targeted countries are likely to mount attacks in the US. Amnesty said, 'This arbitrary travel ban also violates the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution and the US obligation to protect [asylum seekers and refugees] under international and national refugee law.' US Senator Alex Padilla was arrested, thrown to the floor, and handcuffed by law officers for asking a question of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem at a press conference. A judge was arrested in her office for helping a defendant to evade arrest by an immigration team. Masked squads snatch, arrest, and disappear targeted individuals in public and detain those protesting peacefully against his mass roundups of migrants. Trump placed the California National Guard under federal control and deployed 700 marines against largely peaceful Los Angeles demonstrations against his administration's crack down on migrants. This intervention coincided with the June 14th military parade in Washington to mark the 250th anniversary of the US army, Trump's 79th birthday, and anti-authoritarian 'No King' protests against Trump's authoritarianism which drew five million across the US. Trump again demonstrated his authoritarian bent on the international plane by ordering and carrying out attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in support of Israel's war on Iran. While anti-Iran hawks and most lawmakers in Trump's Republican party praised this action, Democrats were highly critical. They argued that he failed to seek congressional authorisation to use military force abroad and insisted on a full, classified briefing on this operation. Some Democrats called for Trump's impeachment. Photo: AFP
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voice of America aired Trump's message to Iranian people during US bombings
Voice of America (VOA) may have been used to broadcast Donald Trump's message to Iranians in Farsi during weekend military strikes, the president's senior adviser told Congress on Wednesday, revealing how the crumbling, traditionally independent news service is possibly functioning as a conduit for presidential messaging. Kari Lake, Trump's handpicked choice to oversee the US Agency for Global Media, told the House foreign affairs committee that VOA crews worked on Saturday to deliver Trump's message as bombing operations were under way. 'I'm very proud to say that when President Trump, when the bombings happened over the weekend, on Saturday, when President Trump started to speak, we had a crew in on Saturday delivering President Trump's message to the people of Iran in Farsi,' Lake testified. Related: Trump administration almost totally dismantles Voice of America with latest terminations While VOA has historically served US interests globally, the comments from Lake, a former longtime television anchor who unsuccessfully ran as the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Arizona's governorship, then its Senate seat, suggest a more immediate, personal form of presidential communication than the service's traditional role of providing broader US policy context and news. Lake's testimony also came just days after the White House authorized the termination of 639 employees at VOA on Friday. The layoffs represent the final phase of Trump's assault on the broadcasting service, which has eliminated 1,400 positions since March and reduced the agency to just 250 employees across the entire US Agency for Global Media. VOA, founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, reportedly reached 360 million people weekly across dozens of languages as a major part of the US cold war broadcasting strategy to push American-centric ideas to populations under authoritarian rule. During Wednesday's hearing, Lake argued that Trump wants to completely eliminate VOA as an independent agency, claiming it 'does not know how to manage' and is disrespectful to American taxpayers. 'They shouldn't believe it. And I think this is why President Trump wants to eliminate the agency. The agency itself is not needed,' Lake said when asked why Congress should trust VOA. Lake made unsubstantiated claims that the agency had allowed 'dangerous people into our country' through allegedly improper security screenings of 1,500 employees, telling the House foreign affairs committee that intelligence officials had warned the agency was 'freelancing on your security screenings'. She suggested folding VOA's remaining functions back into the state department, where it operated in the 1940s and early 1950s during what she called its 'glory days' when there were 'guardrails on what the story of America was being told' and it wasn't 'anti-American'. The agency's demolition began in March when Trump signed an executive order targeting federal agencies he branded as bloated bureaucracy. In March, the White House issued a statement calling VOA 'propaganda' and 'leftist' and dubbed it 'the Voice of Radical America'. Three VOA journalists leading legal challenges against its near-shuttering said the cuts 'spell the death of 83 years of independent journalism that upholds US ideals of democracy and freedom around the world'.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump representative Kari Lake on Voice of America's fate: 'Scrap the whole thing and start over'
The Trump administration's choice to oversee government-run news outlets like Voice of America told a congressional committee on Wednesday that 'it's best to just scrap the whole thing and start over.' Kari Lake, the former Arizona newscaster turned Republican politician, testified that the U.S. Agency for Global Media is 'rotten to the core' and that any salvageable parts should be put under the control of the U.S. State Department. Lake appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee days after layoff notices were sent to hundreds of employees at the agency and Voice of America, cutting its staff by 85%. With politicians speaking over and around each other, the hearing amounted to a debate on what role journalism should have in spreading American influence abroad. Lake said she is following President Donald Trump's directive to cut the dozens of outlets to the core, with most already shut down or sharply curtailed. She characterized many broadcasts as anti-American or promoting liberal bias, pointing to efforts by Chinese government representatives in the U.S. to influence Mandarin-language content on Radio Free Asia. Trump backs up Lake via social media post The agency is investigating threatening phone calls to a member of Congress from inside Voice of America, Lake said, hinting — but not saying outright — that the target was a Republican. Trump backed her up via a Truth Social post on Wednesday: 'Why would a Republican want Democrat 'mouthpiece' Voice of America (VOA) to continue? It's a TOTAL, LEFTWING DISASTER — No Republican should vote for its survival. KILL IT!' A congressionally-mandated firewall 'makes it impossible for agency management to prevent biased, anti-American or rogue reporting,' Lake said. The 'firewall' she refers to has been in place since 1994, prohibiting any interference by a U.S. government official in the independent reporting of news. Separate from the hearing, VOA director Mike Abramowitz, who is out on administrative leave, said he's aware of no rogue journalists spreading misinformation. Reporters who make mistakes are corrected, he said, and those who violate standards are disciplined. Since Voice of America's inception in World War II, the outlets have operated under the theory that objective news reports delivered to citizens whose own governments resist such freedoms is a 'soft power' way to promote the nation's interests. 'I feel like I am suffering through a propaganda war through your testimony,' said U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Pennsylvania Democrat. 'For those of you who think this is about reform, it's not. It's about shutting down media.' Abramowitz, in a note sent to colleagues on Wednesday, said he was 'saddened and angered' that the motives and patriotism of VOA employees were questioned in the hearing.. Democrats pointed to reports about Russia and China stepping up their own media efforts to fill the void left by stilled American voices. 'Reliable news is no longer accessible for millions of people around the world,' said U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, a Rhode Island Democrat. 'If our adversaries are cheering this decision, why would we do that?' Employees at Voice of America's Persian-language branch that broadcasts in Iran, were hurriedly called back into work at the outset of the Israel-Iran war, only for most of them to be laid off less than a week later. Democrats characterized that as a missed opportunity to speak to Iranian citizens at a time when their government was weak. But Lake said a few employees were able to translate Trump's speech announcing the U.S. bombing on Saturday into Farsi for the radio outlet. Jobs for freelance journalists? 'We don't need to have massive newsrooms,' Lake said. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, said that 'a lot of journalists are freelance. That's something we should look into.' Some Democrats personally attacked Lake as unreliable, particularly a fellow Arizona resident, Rep. Greg Stanton, who pointed to false statements Lake had made about her own failed bids to get elected as governor and senator of that state. 'The American people cannot believe a word you say,' Stanton said. Lake said Stanton was spouting 'complete insanity.' 'I wish I could yield back the last five minutes of my life,' she said. Meanwhile, several Republicans saluted Lake for trying to reform the agencies. The outlets' futures remain uncertain. There are a handful of court cases aimed at restoring funding and ordering a resumption of services. But the longer many remain off the air, the easier it is for followers to get into new habits of consuming news. ___ This story has been corrected to note that it was employees of Voice of America's Persian-language division who were called back into work after start of Israel-Iran war. ___ David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Trump urges congress to ‘kill' Voice of America as its leader defends gutting it
Mr Trump chimed in with a social media post, urging Congress to 'kill' the VOA. PHOTO: ERIC LEE/NYTIMES Trump urges congress to 'kill' Voice of America as its leader defends gutting it WASHINGTON - Ms Kari Lake, a close Trump ally and senior adviser to the US Agency for Global Media, urged Congress on June 25 to gut the Voice of America (VOA) and other federally funded news organisations she oversees, as lawmakers of both parties expressed concern about the move. In a hearing on Capitol Hill that grew testy at times, Ms Lake defended proposed cuts to the global news organisations, while Democrats and some Republicans warned that they could make it impossible for the United States to disseminate information to countries with limited press freedoms, such as Iran, China and Russia. 'What is going out on VOA airwaves - it's outrageous, and it has to stop,' she told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She called independent reporting from international news agencies funded by the government 'corrupt' and 'biased', and made clear that President Donald Trump's goal was not to overhaul but to shut down the global media agency, which she called 'a rotten piece of fish'. Mr Trump himself chimed in on June 25 with a social media post, urging Congress to 'kill' the VOA. 'Why would a Republican want Democrat 'mouthpiece,' Voice of America, to continue?' he wrote. 'It's a TOTAL, LEFTWING DISASTER - No Republican should vote for its survival. KILL IT!' Mr Trump has accused the news group of spreading 'anti-American' and partisan 'propaganda', calling it 'the voice of radical America'. In March, he signed an executive order that effectively called for the dismantling of the news agency, and put nearly all VOA reporters on paid leave, ceasing its operations for the first time since its founding in 1942. Ms Lake, the former newscaster Mr Trump put in charge of the department that includes the international broadcast network, sent layoff notices last week to all but around 200 reporters and support staff at Voice of America and the parent agency she leads. She has also withheld funding from other newsrooms that are separate nonprofits but receive federal dollars, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. On June 25, she asked members of Congress to amend the laws requiring the existence of Voice of America and its aligned newsrooms, which have sought to fight the Trump administration's push to shutter them. She argued that her agency was 'unsalvageable' and 'a threat to America's national security', asserting falsely that its reporters, including foreign nationals, had obtained security clearances, and that it had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Non-citizens cannot obtain security clearances for viewing classified information, and no reporters at the global media agency have such security clearances, said Ms Kate Neeper, a director of strategy who received a layoff notice last week. Some executives may have security clearances to receive intelligence that would help them protect reporters who work in war-torn areas or in countries with repressive governments, Ms Neeper said. 'Congress should ask Ms Lake to provide proof for the mystifying allegations,' Mr Mike Abramowitz, director of Voice of America, said in a statement. 'If VOA is controlled by the CCP, then why are they rejoicing at its being shut down?' Democrats and some Republicans voiced concern that in moving to dismantle the global media agency, Mr Trump was abandoning a useful tool of soft power. Representative Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said there were 'systemic problems' in the agency, but that it remained necessary around the world. 'We need America's voice in Iran right now,' he said. 'We need to ensure the Iranian people hear the truth that we do not intend to harm them.' Representative Young Kim, R-Calif, said she was worried that the cuts could affect journalists who 'spent decades building their credibility and trust with our audiences'. 'I just want to make sure that those talents are not eliminated and we are able to bring them back as soon as possible,' Ms Kim said. Democrats pointed to a surge in Iranians tuning into Radio Farda, the Persian-language news service funded by the global media agency. Amid the recent war between Israel and Iran, they argued, the United States should continue to fund media organizations countering the misinformation disseminated by Iran and other countries, such as North Korea. 'Those regimes are actually cheering as we surrender another potent set of soft power tools and abandon the airwaves,' said Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the panel. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
