James Rubin at the Washington Post:
“When the Trump administration shut down Voice of America in March, it silenced one of the few sources of accurate information in countries without a free press. What’s worse is that American defenses against foreign disinformation are being eliminated as well. Not only is the United States no longer serving up the truth, it’s allowing our enemies to propagate false information around the world with no pushback.”
Kari Lake commenting on One America News Network (OAN) — the ultra-right, ultra-pro-Trump, conspiracy theory channel—being added to Voice of America:
“In my current role as Senior Advisor to USAGM, I don’t have editorial control over the content of VOA and OCB programming, but I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs,” Lake wrote in a post on X announcing the agreement. “And every day I look for ways to save American taxpayers money. Bringing in OAN as a video/news source does both. OAN is one of the few family-owned American media networks left in the United States. We are grateful for their generosity.”
Seven weeks ago, the wrecking of the VOA was set in motion when more than 900 full-time employees were put on leave, and 550 contractors were let go entirely Lawsuits have been filed by some of them against the Trump administration for violating their First Amendment rights. But on Tuesday, in a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia blocked a lower court’s ruling reinstating the employees.
Meanwhile, as Walter Einenkel wrote May 1, the Trump administration has created its own imitation Drudge Report and is turning an array of government websites, like one on Covid-19, into conspiracy theory sites to aid efforts to flood the public with even more lies.
Kari Lake talking about the credibility of anyone/anything would be hilarious if she were just a commenter on a Breitbart thread. But here she is making sure that the U.S. isn't just "allowing our enemies to propagate false information around the world with no pushback" but actively participating in that propagation. This won’t be done with Koch money, or AIPAC money, but directly with our tax money. The only surprise is that Lake didn’t also add RT, one of the Kremlin’s key propaganda outfits (formerly known as Russia Today).
Media Matters wrote back in 2022:
This pattern of pro-Russia coverage follows OAN’s notable history of acting as a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda. Both a former correspondent and a more recent hire of OAN's previously worked for Russian state-owned media outlets. After the invasion of Ukraine, OAN hosts promoted Kremlin-sponsored conspiracy theories about Western “biolabs” and Ukraine bombing its own hospitals while guests claimed that “Ukraine is not a real country” and that it’s just “a giant money-pot laundering scheme for the elites.”
The network’s more recent coverage is part of a right-wing effort to defend Russian President Vladimir Putin by convincing viewers Russia’s invasion is not actually an invasion:
In 2020, Trump allies pondered purchasing OAN. Maybe now the Orange Menace himself will offer the family-owned operation the few hundred Trump Meme Coins it will take to buy the operation.
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Cross-posted (with some changes) from The Journal of Uncharted Blue Places
You can also find me @meteorblades.bsky.social
