Voice of America

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Former VOA staffer Al Pessin on VOA’s role amid the Trump-appointee shakeup

At the end of August, journalists with the U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America (VOA) took the extraordinary step of ringing a public alarm bell about moves by the new CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA and several other outlets. VOA broadcasts in 47 languages and employs both U.S. citizens…

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Tech platforms struggle to label state-controlled media

Twitter announced last week that it would start labeling some accounts run by media outlets and their top editors as “state-affiliated,” a descriptor intended to improve transparency about the source of information being shared on the platform.  Since disinformation became a flash point in the debate over content moderation on social media, distinguishing propaganda from…

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Freelance reporter charged with insulting Zimbabwe’s president

On June 29, 2020, Godfrey Mtimba, a freelance journalist in Zimbabwe’s southern town of Masvingo, was charged with insulting and undermining the authority of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the journalist and his lawyer, Phillip Shumba, told CPJ via messaging app. Mtimba was charged under Section 33 (2) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act,…

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Voice of America visa review could put journalists at risk

New York, July 13, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern that the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s review of visas at Voice of America could endanger journalists who have worked for the international, U.S.-Congress funded news outlet. “Voice of America has brought independent news to tightly censored countries and offered journalists working in…

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CPJ sends letter to U.S. Agency for Global Media head encouraging unbiased coverage

The Committee to Protect Journalists urges new U.S. Agency for Global Media head Michael Pack to ensure editorial independence and unbiased coverage at Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and Radio Free Asia (RFA).

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Internal CDC memo forbids staff from speaking with Voice of America

Washington, D.C., June 15, 2020 — In response to a newly published internal email showing that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prohibited its employees from accepting interviews with the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “It is reprehensible that a government agency…

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President Donald Trump is seen in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 8, 2020, in Washington. The White House recently accused the Voice of America broadcaster of promoting "foreign propaganda." (AP/Alex Brandon)

Trump’s White House blasts VOA for ‘promoting propaganda’

Washington D.C., April 10, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today said it is appalled by an official White House statement yesterday accusing Voice of America (VOA), the U.S. Congress-funded international broadcaster, of “speak[ing] for America’s adversaries” and promoting Chinese propaganda on the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A journalist is seen filming a conference in Beijing, China, on January 26, 2020. The Chinese government recently ordered the dismissal of local staffers at several U.S. news outlets in Beijing. (Reuters/Thomas Peter)

Beijing dismisses Chinese news assistants working for U.S. bureaus

Washington, D.C., March 20, 2020 — The Chinese government should immediately reverse the dismissals of Chinese employees working for U.S. news organizations in Beijing, and stop creating obstacles to news gathering by foreign outlets in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A man stands in front of a plaque in honor of missing Burundian journalist Jean Bigirimana in Bujumbura during a commemoration to mark one year after the journalist's disappearance on July 21, 2017. On August 2, 2019, CPJ joined a call for the U.N. Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the Burundi Commission of Inquiry. (AFP/STRINGER)

CPJ joins call for U.N. Human Rights Council to extend mandate of Burundi Commission of Inquiry

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 40 other civil society organizations in calling on member and observer states of the U.N. Human Rights Council to extend for a year the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi.

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A radio station is seen in Bujumbura, Burundi, on March 19, 2015. Burundi authorities recently banned the BBC and suspended VOA from broadcasting within the country. (Carl de Souza/AFP)

Burundi media regulator bans BBC and VOA

Nairobi, April 2, 2019 — Authorities in Burundi should fully restore broadcasting rights to the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Voice of America, and allow journalists in the country to contribute to the two organizations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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