Musk and DOGE have another perfect target: taxpayer-funded, anti-American media

Instead of big games, Doge leader Elon Musk focused on US government-funded media. He supported Trump’s ally Richard Grenell’s call to shut down VOA and radio’s free Europe, replied with X “Yes, shut it down.” Trump’s VOA director candidate Kari Lake insisted on keeping them open and replied that they had made them pro-Americans.

Lake strongly denied the fears of liberal media turning VOA into “Trump TV,” and clearly said that even President Donald Trump wants to present a fair and accurate portrayal of America I’ve done it. To further shake up the US Global Media Agency (USAGM), Trump also nominated Brent Bozel, president of the fiercely conservative Media Watchdog and Media Research Center, leading the USAGM, the parent agency of American voices. and led international broadcasters funded by other taxpayers.

The annual budget is nearly $1 billion, and USAGM is attracting the attention of masks. Despite then-President Joe Biden’s 2025 205-205 $950 million budget proposal, most Americans are unaware of the role of VOA. However, outside the US, VOA is a widely recognized international broadcaster, reaching a weekly audience of 354 million people in 49 languages.

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Its reach is so broad that according to the Guardian, America’s largest domestic radio and television networks make it “seem like a small fly.” The real concern is that VOA often spreads anti-American tales rather than promoting US values. The left fears losing a funded, unsupervised and highly influential tool to globally criticize American values.

Founded in 1942 during World War II, Voice of America aimed to convey US policies and counter the propaganda of its enemies. Joined Radio Free Europe and four other federally owned outlets in 1950, playing an important role in shaping global awareness through World War II, the Korean War and the Cold War until the collapse of the Soviet Union. I did.

However, on April 30, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the International Broadcasting Act and established the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) and the Broadcasting Committee (BBG) to oversee non-military international broadcasting.

Since then, concerns have been growing about several programs that support hostile regimes such as Iran, China, Russia and Cuba. In May 2020, Iranian envoy of the Trump State Department, Brian Hook, in a New York Post article entitled “Why are US taxpayers funding Iran’s “Voice of Muller”?” I criticized VOA. They accuse them of promoting a hostile administration narrative to American interests.

The campaign to reform the VOA began in 2006 and was led by then-Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn. Coburn was invited to testify about how US taxpayer-funded broadcasts to Iran proved to be ineffective and ineffective in the US policy.

In a letter to then President George W. Bush, Cobain believed in me as an initiator of efforts to reform VOA and Radio Falda, and these media outlets said, “In fact, the interests of America are in fact. It’s not helping, it’s harming America’s interests.” The report commissioned by the State Department and the National Security Council reflects my testimony despite resistance from VOA insiders.

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I became involved in this issue shortly after fleeing Evin’s prison and fled Iran with the help of the Bush administration. Having endured more than five years of torture, I was recognized by Amnesty International as the first known victim of Iran’s “white torture.” Before leaving Iran, I looked at the VOA briefly, shocked by the respect for the Islamic regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), and downplayed the atrocities while promoting internal reform. In my testimony, I urged the VOA to stop misleading Iranians with so-called balanced reports.

Under President Barack Obama, Cobain continued his campaign to reform the VOA and harnessed his strong relationship with the president. He successfully supported the appointment of eight new BBG members, divided equally between Republicans and Democrats.

Another potential goal of the cut is the US institution for global media. In addition to Voice of America, USAGM is comprised of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Cuban broadcasting stations, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Network, and an Open Technology Fund. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)

On April 6, 2011, I once again heard before a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and asked, “Does American international broadcasting undermine our national interests and the battle against tyrannical regimes?” He testified alongside John Lenzky, founder of Lenzky. I was a researcher and visiting lecturer in World Politics.

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Despite the initial hope that new leadership in BBG and VOA would solve the problem, corruption persisted. Coburn’s illness prevented him from completing his efforts, and after the resignation of VOA Persian service director and some BBG members, the VOA returned to normal anti-American bias.

USAGM has 4,000 employees and 1,500 stringers, of which over 2,000 are in VOA, many of which are bureaucrats protected by union protection. The most effective way to bypass these obstacles is to shut down these corrupt services. Disbanding VOA and Radio Falda will remove taxpayer-funded platforms for anti-Americans, anti-Israel, pro-China, pro-Lucia, and far-reaching left-wing activists pushing the Iranian Mura agenda. These services will be rebuilt with a lean and dedicated team of pro-American journalists and can ensure that VOA truly represents America.

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