“Since its creation in 1942, Voice of America has been committed to providing comprehensive coverage of the news and telling audiences the truth,” reads the Voice of America mission.
Voice of America (VOA), a US government funded international broadcasting agency, provides balanced and objective news worldwide in nearly 50 languages. Given Trump's recent pick for its next director, its estimated weekly audience of more than 354 million people are at risk of receiving false and politically biased news.
Nominating Kari Lake, Former FOX TV news anchor and failed Arizona Republican nominee (2022 Gubernatorial and 2024 Senate), to lead the agency, Trump’s objective is clear: the VOA will become a political extension of his administration, as he continues his war against the mainstream “Fake News Media.”
As a public diplomacy student, I know it is crucial to examine this appointment's significance for US image-making abroad and how Kari Lake has the potential to drastically change US public diplomacy and soft power for the foreseeable future.
Founded in 1942, less than two months after the US entered World War II, VOA was committed to fighting for truth in the face of propaganda. With their first broadcast airing in German to counter Nazi propaganda, announcer William Harlan Hale opened with this: “We bring you Voices from America. Today, and daily from now on, we shall speak to you about America and the war. The news may be good for us. The news may be bad. But we shall tell you the truth.”
Since then, VOA has served as America’s messenger to foreign publics abroad in various languages, crafting an image of America with complete editorial independence, enshrined by the VOA Charter and the 1994 U.S. International Broadcasting Act, which provides a “firewall” to prevent interference from government officials. The VOA is well-resourced, with over 2,000 employees producing radio, digital, and television content, funded by a budget of $267.5 million (£211m). This capacity for fair and objective news has continued to grow and evolve amidst a fragmented media landscape. By consistently telling American stories with the objective truth prioritised, VOA’s operations are evidently more vital than ever before, as they combat disinformation and, most importantly, serve as an integral arm of U.S. public diplomacy and foreign policy.
During the end of Trump’s first term, VOA’s mission and operations were continuously under attack. His pick to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, conservative filmmaker Michael Pack, who oversaw VOA, steadily ignored its editorial independence by rescinding the firewall, removing deemed controversial stories, and even investigating VOA White House correspondents for “perceived anti-Trump bias.”
Trump’s political prominence and anti-media polarising rhetoric have only grown stronger since 2020, primarily due to Trump loyalists like Kari Lake. With Lake’s nomination, we should expect nothing less than heightened public attacks on the agency's objectives. Having never been elected or served in public office, her nomination is beyond concerning for the future of VOA, as her perpetuation of disinformation and brazen attacks on the media can weaken US public diplomacy for generations.
Between posting COVID-19 disinformation in 2020, continually denying her 2022 gubernatorial loss and Trump’s 2020 election loss, calling journalists “monsters,” and calling to “defund the press,” her nomination to this role poses a critical threat to America’s reputation and soft power. As her past political rhetoric becomes the voice of America for the world to see, it is imperative to consider the risk this poses to VOA audiences receiving their news, their perceptions of America, and the various diplomatic consequences of those perceptions.
In public diplomacy, the government practice of engaging with foreign publics, a crucial pillar of engagement is building trust to promote cooperation. Yet, by being a political leader who has continued to perpetuate political bias and misinformation, the work being done at the VOA under Kari Lake would be compromised and undermined. Research has indicated how devastating the impacts are on media trust when politically charged leaders utilise media to further their agendas or self-interest. Despite Kari Lake's claim that she has no intention of turning Voice of America into "Trump TV," we must not take her words for face value. As she has proven over time, she cannot “lead the charge” for politically neutral journalism.
A silver lining in this Trump administration pick is that he cannot officially appoint her leadership. After Trump’s first term and the chaos that consumed the VOA, Congressional reform led to the creation of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board (IBAB). Composed of six bipartisan experts in foreign public affairs and the Secretary of State, the board ensures editorial independence and appointments yet is ultimately appointed by the President.
While it remains unclear how the Trump administration plans to navigate this, the board’s provisions outline that no more than three appointees can be from the same political party, and their tenure does not end as soon as Trump takes office. As the Senate confirmed the six board members in 2023, we do not know when Kari Lake’s nomination will occur or if it will at all, which is sure to propel Trump’s continued attacks on the agency and the media tout court.
Image: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
No image changes made.
Comments