Several journalists employed by an outlet funded by the U.S. government have found themselves in President Donald Trump's crosshairs, according to a new report.In a Friday article, the New York Times reported that one longtime journalist at Voice of America (VOA) — which is funded by Congress throug...
As much as I hate Trump, there’s a logic in this. VOA has always been a publicly-funded propaganda mouthpiece. They are NOT an independent media. Independence entails not taking money from people you want to criticize.
If VOA refuses to spew out the latest flavor of propaganda, they’re not doing their job.
Not only that, the VOA literally has its own law requiring it to be impartial and protecting it from direct interference by the US government.
VOICE OF AMERICA BROADCASTS
Sec. 206. Title V of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 is amended by adding the following new section:
Sec. 503. The long-range interests of the United States are served by communicating directly with the peoples of the world by radio. To be effective, the Voice of America must win the attention and respect of listeners. These principles will therefore govern Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts:
VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.
VOA will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions.
VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies. (Public Law 94-350)
But what you don’t understand is that VOA is not a news organization. It was created during WW2 by the Office of the Coordinator of Information for the express purpose of spreading pro-American propaganda in Germany and in Japan. And it has kept doing exactly that ever since.
I remember it showering the USSR with pro-American high-power shortwave radio broadcasts in Russian and in English when I was a kid in the 70’s. Everybody knew VOA was America’s response to radio Moscow.
VOA is quite explicitely a propaganda thing. Really! You guys can downvote me all you want, it’s the plain truth. VOA journalists are quite literally paid to spread American propaganda.
His Orangeness has decided to turn the country around 180 degrees and make it a fascist pro-Russia state and I despise him with all my heart. But Trump is right: the VOA has no business not being 100% aligned with him.
That makes the VOA an enemy of freedom, democracy and common decency, just like Trump.
An essential guarantee of the journalistic credibility of Voice of America content is the “firewall” enshrined in the 1994 U.S. International Broadcasting Act. The firewall prohibits interference by any U.S. government official in the objective, independent reporting of news, thereby safeguarding the ability of our journalists to develop content that reflects the highest professional standards of journalism, free of political interference.
The point is they’re supposed to at least keep up the pretext of not being propaganda, and this is done by being critical when permitted. Trump doesn’t want them to be critical of him at all, which goes against their mandate from Congress.
Elon Musk managed to more or less keep up the appearance of being smart for a long while, up to when he called that diver a pedo.
It would be better if it did, but you shouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t, anymore than you should expect the Washington Post to criticize Bezos or Fox News Rupert Murdoch.
Except for the whole “first amendment” part, remember? Bezos isn’t legally prohibited from infringing on freedom of the press.
The government isn’t allowed to do things an individual might be able to.
You’re literally arguing that the first amendment doesn’t apply to government employees, which is absolute horseshit.
You shouldn’t be downvoted, but this isn’t true. While partially funded by Congress, the VOA’s mission is not propaganda.
Since its creation in 1942, Voice of America has been committed to providing comprehensive coverage of the news and telling audiences the truth. Through World War II, the Cold War, the fight against global terrorism, and the struggle for freedom around the globe today, VOA exemplifies the principles of a free press.
VOA is part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the government agency that oversees all non-military, U.S. international broadcasting. It is funded by the U.S. Congress.
Now, we can debate how much this is true in practice, and I’m sure the governmental structure of the organisation means the government can put their thumb on the scale somewhat, but the mission means they’re at least meant to keep the pretext of being independent and free.
But Trump doesn’t understand that. In his eyes, he’s paying for it (not Congress nor the American voters/taxpayers) and if he’s paying for it he gets to boss them around.
The number of people thinking the AID in USAID implies assistance is insane. The number of media outlets receiving propaganda money from USAID to spread US propaganda is insane.
As much as I hate Trump, there’s a logic in this. VOA has always been a publicly-funded propaganda mouthpiece. They are NOT an independent media. Independence entails not taking money from people you want to criticize.
If VOA refuses to spew out the latest flavor of propaganda, they’re not doing their job.
VOA takes money from US taxpayers, not the Trump administration. Criticizing Trump is about as pro-American as that news organization can get.
Not only that, the VOA literally has its own law requiring it to be impartial and protecting it from direct interference by the US government.
The President has plenty of propaganda tools at his disposal without having a “news organization” make shit up.
But what you don’t understand is that VOA is not a news organization. It was created during WW2 by the Office of the Coordinator of Information for the express purpose of spreading pro-American propaganda in Germany and in Japan. And it has kept doing exactly that ever since.
I remember it showering the USSR with pro-American high-power shortwave radio broadcasts in Russian and in English when I was a kid in the 70’s. Everybody knew VOA was America’s response to radio Moscow.
VOA is quite explicitely a propaganda thing. Really! You guys can downvote me all you want, it’s the plain truth. VOA journalists are quite literally paid to spread American propaganda.
His Orangeness has decided to turn the country around 180 degrees and make it a fascist pro-Russia state and I despise him with all my heart. But Trump is right: the VOA has no business not being 100% aligned with him.
That makes the VOA an enemy of freedom, democracy and common decency, just like Trump.
From the VOA website:
Also: Elon Musk says he’s a genius.
Man of course VOA says they’re independent media. Now please find a truly independent analysis that says the same?
The point is they’re supposed to at least keep up the pretext of not being propaganda, and this is done by being critical when permitted. Trump doesn’t want them to be critical of him at all, which goes against their mandate from Congress.
Elon Musk managed to more or less keep up the appearance of being smart for a long while, up to when he called that diver a pedo.
VOA, RFA, RFE, and a shitton of others are nothing but propaganda machines for the US
So you’re going with “freedom of speech doesn’t apply if you work for the government”?
It would be better if it did, but you shouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t, anymore than you should expect the Washington Post to criticize Bezos or Fox News Rupert Murdoch.
Except for the whole “first amendment” part, remember? Bezos isn’t legally prohibited from infringing on freedom of the press.
The government isn’t allowed to do things an individual might be able to.
You’re literally arguing that the first amendment doesn’t apply to government employees, which is absolute horseshit.
No it doesn’t. Criticizing those that fund you would literally be one of the more independent things a group could do.
You shouldn’t be downvoted, but this isn’t true. While partially funded by Congress, the VOA’s mission is not propaganda.
Now, we can debate how much this is true in practice, and I’m sure the governmental structure of the organisation means the government can put their thumb on the scale somewhat, but the mission means they’re at least meant to keep the pretext of being independent and free.
But Trump doesn’t understand that. In his eyes, he’s paying for it (not Congress nor the American voters/taxpayers) and if he’s paying for it he gets to boss them around.
VOA is less objective than RT.
/s
I think you are getting down voted, not because you are wrong, but because that truth is particularly unpleasant.
It would be like radio free Europe criticising Regan’s policies during the cold war.
The number of people thinking the AID in USAID implies assistance is insane. The number of media outlets receiving propaganda money from USAID to spread US propaganda is insane.
Bootlicker.
What part of “As much as I hate Trump” don’t you understand?
The part where you then licked the boots, most likely.
“I’m a staunch vegetarian, but even I like a big ribeye once in a while”. You can see why people might disregard the first part.
It’s hard to focus on where you say you dislike trump when the following bit is where you justify calling criticism of him treason.