Trump’s dismantling of Voice of America could lead to dominance of anti-American propaganda, director says
Washington – President Trump’s Disassembly Michael Abramowitz, the agency’s director, predicts that the voices funded by the U.S. government will pave the way for U.S. rivals to provide greater influence.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order that attempted to make a full cut of about 1,300 employees in the nation’s largest international broadcasters, including Abramoviz, and learned over the weekend that they were scheduled for administrative leave and another 500 contractors were terminated. Mr. Trump accused the news agency that began broadcasting during World War II for spreading “radical propaganda.”
In an interview with CBS News on Monday, Abramowitz called VOA a “very important soft power tool” called by the United States, and said it would be a “self-destructive blow” to national security, as VOA’s news coverage helps to combat disinformation from China, Russia and Iran.
“If the United States goes out of the competitive environment and cedes it to our opponents, then they will tell the narrative that people around the world will hear that it is not good for the United States,” he said. “They will hear an anti-American narrative. We need to fight the truth.”
VOA reports news about the United States in nearly 50 languages, with most of its focus training countries lacking free media. By law, these broadcasts will not be broadcasted within the United States, but news shows are widely viewed – around 360 million people worldwide each week.
“We are attracting audiences who may hear propaganda,” Abramovitz said, adding that many VOA journalists come from authoritarian-controlled countries. “Overall, the main challenge for the United States is that in this global information war, countries like China and Russia are actually actually having lunch at us. … So, I really feel like we need an accurate, impartial, objective, objective organization and telling the truth about the rest of the United States in the language they understand.”
“It’s never important to the lies and false information that are happening around the world,” he added.
Nevertheless, Abramowitz admits that the VOA with an annual budget of $270 million can be reformed and should “not resist change.”
“I’m not saying that this has to be done all the time,” Abramoviz said. “It’s a big change. It needs to be changed. It needs to be changed.”
“I personally don’t think it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said. “Does this mean it has to be a $270 million budget? Maybe it could be ($240 million), maybe it could be ($200 million). Look, we’re in an era taxpayer Expect a smaller, more modern, more streamlined government. ”
He defended VOA reporters as nonpartisans and said that if they had any bias, they would oppose totalitarianism, tyranny and authoritarianism.
“If you care about free IranIf you care more openness ChinaIf you care about Russia’s freedom, if you care about freedom Venezuela And Nicaragua, then you have a very important tool in VOA that can help delay and bring its accurate and objective information into these places where there is no it. This is very important. ”
