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| Kari Lake |
Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Van Hollen have blasted Kari Lake’s decision to partner Voice of America and Office of Cuba Broadcasting with One America News.
They believe the alliance with OAN has the potential of turning the federal networks into propaganda channels similar to the Kremlin’s RT and China’s Xinhua News Agency.
In their May 22 letter to Lake, senior advisor at the US Agency for Global Media, and Victor Morales, acting CEO, the Senators note that OAN falsely alleged widespread fraud after the 2020 elections, defamed Capitol Police Officers in the aftermath of the January 6 assault on the Capitol, and launched partisan attacks against former officials to deflect fair criticism from the Trump Administration.
“The idea that this type of partisan content could appear on VOA or OCB disrespects these institutions and their staff,” they wrote.
It also sends a message to the world that VOA and OCB and the political party that OAN aligns its contents with “are one entity—an utterly dangerous proposition for our democracy and stature in the world.”
They want Lake and Morales to terminate USAGM’s partnership with OAN, to protect the editorial independence of the federal networks, and to restore Voice of America without delay.
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