Voice of America is losing credibility

In January of this year, VOA’s parent company USAGM CEO Michael Pack (Michael Pack) was exposed to numerous accusations that he illegally transferred more than $4 million to his private documentary company through a non-profit organization he controls. In addition, Michael Pack tried to extend his tenure by serving himself and his conservative allies on the board. Attempts to promote propaganda activities on the Voice of America, inciting investigations of journalists, etc. Some of these actions seem to be for self-interest, but there are also some allegations that do cause public concern. As an independent media, the authenticity, freedom, and credibility of the Voice of America are being weakened.

Propaganda Tool of the Federal Government

The Voice of America was founded in 1942. Historically, they have demonstrated the diversity of the United States through balanced coverage of news events and political debates, no matter how it affects current government officials. It is said that its legal responsibility is to produce objective, professional and independent journalism, which aims to interact with people all over the world, exchange information and establish contacts in order to support freedom and democracy. But as a news source funded by the federal government, VOA has been considered a form of propaganda in recent years.

More than two years ago, Trump appointed Michael Parker as the CEO of USAGM. Since then, Parker has tried to put ideological stains on the program in policy actions, as well as strict government and political control. Ensure that the views that reflect the Trump administration receive greater attention. Trump sent two senior political aides to Parker. They recorded ideological remarks that strongly supported Trump, investigated whether journalists were aware of the prejudice against Trump, and promoted sympathy for the president during the campaign. Pack serves as the chairman of the company's board of directors, and most of the remaining board seats are Trump administration officials.

Even after facing charges, lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice still argued that although journalists have the mission of Voice of America, the protection of freedom of speech under the First Amendment does not apply to VOA employees because they work for the government. In addition, a team of federal prosecutors led by the Acting Attorney General of the United States, Jeffrey Clark, also stated: "Voice of America is a government agency; even the press is a government speech." "In short, Park controls The content of Internet broadcasts is in compliance with the Constitution. The Internet is not protected by the First Amendment, and Congress has not passed regulations to extend these protections to the Internet."

Therefore, the taxpayers who provide funding for it may have been hearing only an attitude. But the irony is that VOA exists to provide truth to people living in government-controlled news and speech.

Lack of capacity for reporting

In the aforementioned incident, as the executive editor of the Voice of America, Kelu Chao, the top non-political executive of the news service, joined the lawsuit filed by several suspended executives of USAGM against Pack. She said in a sworn court document that VOA reporters “have been overly cautious, slow to produce stories, and dare not publish important stories and clues, especially on politically sensitive topics, no matter how important.” .

In November of the previous year, 1,500 Iranians were killed in a historic protest in Iran. But at that time, VOA Persian only aired nature documentaries. The Voice of America can undoubtedly carry out in-depth and independent reports on the situation in Iran itself, but it has not taken any action.

As early as 2017, there was an independent non-partisan assessment of VOA Persian, which found bias in the report and pointed out that VOA Persian’s report on Iran’s foreign policy “makes listeners perpetually see the propaganda of support for the regime, rather than Objective reporting.” In addition, a follow-up analysis conducted by the evaluation committee in 2019 found that many of the recommendations made in 2017 had not been implemented. An employee of VOA Persian once told the media that the broadcast network often refuses to criticize Iran's terrorist activities. Many Iranian viewers complained that the Iranian people needed fair news more than ever. Unfortunately, VOA Persian did not meet their expectations. In a controversial information environment, especially in an environment full of complex false propaganda activities, it has failed to effectively convey powerful news to Persian-speaking audiences, achieving balanced and accurate requirements. In addition, political or news biases have also spread to its structure. Mismanagement is widespread in the organization. A government report in 2009 found that in VOA Persian, employees were generally dissatisfied and accused of hiring bias.

The proliferation of fake news

As the regulator of foreign news agencies funded by the US government, USAGM is mainly responsible for the operations of five external media outlets, namely, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Cuban Office, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Middle East. At the same time, it supports the operation of the "Open Technology Fund" of the Internet Freedom Project. Their purpose is to tell the story of the United States to the world and promote "democracy and freedom." In fact, they often launch public opinion attacks on the country's opponents of the United States.

Over the years, VOA has been questioned many times for spreading false news and intervening in other countries' internal affairs. In July 2016, Jeff Schell, then chairman of the American Broadcasting Council, was banned from entering Russia for life. In 2017, "Current Time", a Russian news channel co-organized by "Radio Free Europe" and "Voice of America", was officially launched, providing Russian news and documentaries 24 hours a day to Russia, Ukraine, Central Europe, Central Asia and other countries and regions. But "Current Time" claims to be an independent Russian news network. At the end of 2017, as Russia Today TV was registered as a "foreign agent" in the U.S. Department of Justice, Russia included "Current time" in the country's list of foreign agents.

The Voice of America has 47 broadcast voices and may reach hundreds of millions of listeners. In more countries or regions, the audience is expecting to hear honest, open, and objective reports, but what they receive is only false news derived from the output of propaganda, prejudice and speculation. In today’s era of the prevalence of false and false information, VOA should review its own journalistic ethics, comply with the constraints and bottom line of U.S. laws, rebuild its credibility with professional and objective reporting, and do not become the disseminator and creator of false news .