Hundreds of federal workers at Voice of America receive layoff notices
In March, President Donald Trump accused the news group of spreading 'anti-American' and partisan 'propaganda,' calling it 'the voice of radical America.' He then signed an executive order that effectively called for dismantling the news agency and put nearly all Voice of America reporters on paid leave, ceasing its news operations for the first time since its founding in 1942.
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Kari Lake, a fierce Trump ally and a senior adviser at the news organization's oversight agency, U.S. Agency for Global Media, notified Congress earlier this month that her agency intended to eliminate most positions at Voice of America. Her letter identified fewer than 20 employees who must remain at the media organization, according to laws passed by Congress to establish and fund it. Friday's termination notices leave around 200 employees.
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Lake's decision 'spells the death of 83 years of independent journalism that upholds U.S. ideals of democracy and freedom around the world,' Patsy Widakuswara, a former Voice of America White House bureau chief who was placed on leave and is leading a lawsuit against Lake and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said in a statement.
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She encouraged Congress to intervene and to signal support for Voice of America, which was founded to combat Nazi propaganda and reported in countries that suppress independent reporting and free speech.
'Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and extremist groups are flooding the global information space with anti-America propaganda,' Widakuswara said. 'Do not cede this ground by silencing America's voice.'
Lake, who is leading the effort to gut Voice of America, called the news group 'a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy' and attributed her termination of 639 employees at her agency to her goal of eliminating 'dysfunction, bias and waste.'
She added, 'I'm proud to carry out President Trump's executive order and deliver results that put America first.'
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