Beneath the Surface: VOA’s Mandate Meets MAGA Politics
Picture Voice of America (VOA) in its prime: a trusted beacon broadcasting rigorous, fact-based journalism to millions worldwide, often under dark clouds of censorship. For over eighty years, VOA’s mission has been to model pluralistic democracy and deliver unbiased news to those denied a free press. Now, that mission faces perhaps its greatest test since the McCarthy era. The proposed partnership—announced by senior Trump adviser Kari Lake—seeks to turn VOA’s international desk into a megaphone for One America News Network (OAN), a media outlet notorious for its relentless support of Trump and penchant for conspiracy-laden commentary.
Kari Lake’s stunning announcement didn’t just shock the media world; it upended the very principles on which VOA was founded. While Lake hails the alliance as a cost-effective boost to global reporting, critics see an alarming erosion of press independence. At its core, the controversy is about whether a taxpayer-funded news organization will remain a standard-bearer for truth or devolve into a transmitter for America’s most partisan voices.
According to Harvard media ethics professor Susan Benesch, “The history of VOA is not just about American soft power. It’s about the trust millions place in our commitment to accuracy and pluralism. Sacrificing that for short-term political gain puts generations of credibility in jeopardy.”
Consolidating Control: What’s at Stake for Journalists and Audiences
Dig deeper into the administration’s recent maneuvers, and a troubling pattern emerges. Since March, nearly the entire VOA staff has been placed on indefinite leave—a move that not only silenced experienced journalists but left foreign audiences without straightforward coverage of critical events, from elections in Africa to war in Ukraine. Pending lawsuits initiated by exiled journalists and press advocacy groups underscore how staff cuts and operational freezes serve more than budgetary goals—they redefine editorial direction under the guise of cost-saving reforms.
What does this “reform” actually look like? Lake’s statement frames the OAN infusion as a “reliable, credible” alternative following the White House’s abrupt termination of contracts with respected international news services, including AP and Reuters. Absent are specifics about how OAN—a network recently dropped by major cables and beset by lawsuits over the 2020 election and COVID-19 misinformation—plans to meet VOA’s statutory mandate for accuracy and impartiality.
“Kari Lake providing One America News Network to our global audiences makes a mockery of the agency’s history of independent non-partisan journalism.”
Grant Turner, former Chief Financial Officer at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, did not mince words: “Kari Lake providing One America News Network to our global audiences makes a mockery of the agency’s history of independent non-partisan journalism.”
This isn’t mere hyperbole. As former VOA journalist Dina Temple-Raston notes, the shift from fact-based reporting to partisan infotainment risks undermining U.S. credibility not just internationally, but at home, where public trust in media is already eroding.
A History at Crossroads: Lessons From Past and Paths Forward
The battle over VOA’s soul draws uncomfortable parallels to the Cold War, when the agency resisted pressure to become little more than a propaganda arm, instead earning respect by airing news even when it reflected poorly on U.S. policy. The wisdom behind keeping VOA at arm’s length from partisan interests was always clear: Democracy thrives when government-backed media embrace transparency, not dogma.
Compare today’s scenario to past overreaches and you see a familiar playbook: clamp down on dissent, hollow out institutions, and insert loyalists at the expense of expertise and balance. Political meddling in state-sponsored media is hardly new, but the scale and openness of Lake’s OAN deal are unprecedented in the postwar era.
Why does this matter for ordinary Americans? Because VOA’s programming, broadcast to over 360 million people weekly, is one of America’s most effective tools for building trust with populations living under autocracy. Instead of importing pluralism and transparency, OAN content risks projecting an image of America dominated by misinformation, division, and nativist fervor. Anna Fifield, a veteran foreign correspondent, warns, “When U.S. broadcasts start resembling authoritarian propaganda, we lose our greatest strength: credibility.”
Beyond that, the change puts the United States in uncomfortable company—alongside governments that muzzle independent voices and replace them with government-approved spin. What message will that send to countries yearning for honest journalism?
At the end of the day, what Americans export says as much about our democracy as any speech from the Oval Office. If we allow non-partisan journalism to be replaced by echo chambers, we betray not just VOA’s legacy, but the ideals that animate American democracy itself.
