The federally funded Voice of America (VOA) instructed its reporters on Friday to stop using content from the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, following the government’s decision to terminate contracts with the newswire services.
The terminations occur amid heightened tensions between the White House and legacy media outlets, highlighted recently when the Trump administration revoked AP’s access to certain White House areas, including the Oval Office.
Kari Lake, Special Adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, whom President Donald Trump appointed to lead the VOA, announced the cancellation of the contracts on Thursday. According to the AP, Lake estimated the decision would save taxpayers approximately $53 million.
“We should not be paying outside news organizations to tell us what the news is,” Lake wrote 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 currently serving as a special adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media while her nomination to lead VOA is under review. Before entering Republican politics, she worked as broadcast journalist in the Phoenix area. Most recently, she ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in 2024 and for Arizona governor in 2022.
“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,” Lake noted further about the VOA.
“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,” a senior White House official told Fox News Digital.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order mandating the dismantling of seven government offices, including the United States Agency for Global Media, the parent organization of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
“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,” the EO reads.
“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,” Lake wrote on X following Trump’s action.
The seven government agencies targeted in the 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; and the Minority Business Development Agency.
Voice of America has faced criticism for promoting biased content, including allegations of “sanitizing” Hamas. In January, the outlet was accused of omitting key context in an article when it failed to mention that Gaza residents cheered as the terrorist group 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,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., told National Review at the time of VOA’s coverage.
Just days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, VOA told its employees to “avoid calling Hamas and its members terrorists, except in quotes,” National Review reported at the time.
The government-funded news outlet has also faced scrutiny over the years for its coverage, including a 2020 article titled “What Is ‘White Privilege’ and Whom Does It Help?” Additionally, it was criticized for publishing a story and video that drew comparisons to a Biden campaign ad in 2020 and for downplaying the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, which emerged in the final weeks of the 2020 presidential race.
