Kari Lake-Run Voice Of America Ends Contracts With Legacy Media
The federally funded news organization Voice of America (VOA) has directed its journalists to discontinue using material from major news agencies such as the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. This decision follows the government's move to end contracts with these newswire services.
These terminations come at a time of increasing friction between the White House and established media organizations. The tension was underscored when the Trump administration recently revoked AP’s access to select White House locations, including the Oval Office.
Kari Lake, who currently serves as a Special Adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, announced the contract cancellations on Thursday. Lake, whom President Donald Trump has appointed to lead VOA, stated—according to AP reports—that this measure is expected to save taxpayers around $53 million.
“We should not be paying outside news organizations to tell us what the news is,” Lake posted on X. “With a nearly billion-dollar budget, we should be producing news ourselves. And if that’s not possible, the American taxpayer should demand to know why.”
Lake is presently an adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media while awaiting confirmation to assume VOA’s leadership. Before her involvement in Republican politics, she had an extensive career in broadcast journalism in Phoenix. She most recently ran unsuccessful campaigns for a U.S. Senate seat in 2024 and for Arizona governor in 2022.
Commenting on VOA’s state, Lake asserted, “From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer—a national security risk for this nation—and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule.”
A senior White House official also criticized VOA, stating, “Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now,” as reported by Fox News Digital.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that calls for dismantling seven government offices, including the United States Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The executive order specifies that “The non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.”
Following this development, Lake took to X again, posting, “The President has issued an Executive Order titled Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy. It affects USAGM and its outlets VOA and OCB. If you are an employee of the agency please check your email immediately for more information.”
The agencies impacted by this executive order include:
- The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
- The U.S. Agency for Global Media
- The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution
- The Institute of Museum and Library Services
- The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
- The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
- The Minority Business Development Agency
Voice of America has faced allegations of bias, including claims that it has “sanitized” coverage of Hamas. In January, the organization was criticized for omitting key context in a report that failed to mention how Gaza residents celebrated while Hamas displayed coffins containing the remains of Israeli hostages, including children.
“Let’s get the facts straight: Hamas paraded the dead bodies of innocent Israelis, including two children, in front of cheering crowds. American taxpayers should not be paying the salaries of Hamas apologists who spout terrorist propaganda,” stated House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., in an interview with National Review.
Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, VOA reportedly advised its staff to “avoid calling Hamas and its members terrorists, except in quotes,” as revealed by National Review at the time.
VOA has previously faced scrutiny over its editorial decisions, including a 2020 article titled “What Is ‘White Privilege’ and Whom Does It Help?” The outlet also drew criticism for airing a segment in 2020 that closely resembled a Biden campaign ad and for its handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.