Pro-China critics are rejoicing at the shutdown of the federally funded broadcast news service, Voice of America (VOA).
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that promised voters would be “no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.”
This order follows alleged anti-Trump content from the outlet. The executive order links to coverage about VOA that claims reporters posted anti-Trump sentiments on their personal social media accounts. It also highlights articles from VOA explaining white privilege and the outlet’s claim that Russia was involved in the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Over the weekend, former Arizona Senate candidate and senior adviser to the agency that oversees VOA, Kari Lake told employees via X that they should check their email. This coincided with some 1,300 VOA staff being placed on administrative leave.
While some are calling this a step back for democracy, long-time critics of the outlet, and those linked to the Chinese Government, are overjoyed to see the gutting of the agency.
On X, Chinese journalist Chen Weihua, who works for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) owned news outlet China Daily, wrote, “Good to know many who made a living by badmouthing and smearing China are likely to be jobless.”
Mario Cavolo, a host from Chinese Central Television (CCTV), also funded by the CCP, accused VOA of being a "CIA cutout" and a "propaganda machine" that spewed "ridiculous anti-China propaganda detached from the truth."
VOA’s reporting in China has previously faced backlash before its culling.
One particular target of criticism has been VOA’s coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests, the 1989 student-led pro-democracy demonstration that was suppressed by the CCP.
Coverage of the protests is banned in China, and the government has taken measures to block all information related to them.
Deniers accused the outlet of faking evidence through artificial intelligence, and complained that comments on their posts were heavily moderated.
One commenter even claimed that “truth” would get “auto deleted.”
VOA has previously had its signals jammed and broadcast’s cut by the Chinese Government.
In 2017, an interview with prominent CCP critic Guo Wengui was abruptly shut down after the outlet feared the wrath of the Chinese government, sparking outrage at the publication’s cowardice.
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