Of all of the contradictions and ironies of Donald Trump’s second presidency to this point, maybe probably the most shocking has been his shutting down the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for being “radical propaganda”.
Critics have lengthy accused the company – and its affiliated shops equivalent to Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia – of being a propaganda arm of US international coverage.
However to the present president, the USAGM has develop into a promoter of anti-American concepts and agendas – together with allegedly suppressing tales essential of Iran, sympathetically overlaying the difficulty of “white privilege” and bowing to strain from China.
Propaganda is clearly within the eye of the beholder. The Moscow Instances reported Russian officers had been elated by the demise of the “purely propagandistic” shops, whereas China’s International Instances celebrated the closure of a “lie factory”.
In the meantime, the European Fee hailed USAGM shops as a “beacon of truth, democracy and hope”. All of which could have left the typical individual understandably confused: Voice of America? Wasn’t that the US propaganda outlet from World Conflict II?
Effectively, sure. However the actuality of USAGM and related state-sponsored international media shops is extra complicated – as are the implications of the US company’s demise.
Public service or state propaganda?
The USAGM is one in every of a number of worldwide public service media shops based mostly in western democracies. Others embody Australia’s ABC Worldwide, the BBC World Service, CBC/Radio-Canada, France Médias Monde, NHK-World Japan, Deutsche Welle in Germany and SRG SSR in Switzerland.
A part of the Public Media Alliance, they’re just like nationwide public service media, largely funded by taxpayers to uphold democratic beliefs of common entry to information and knowledge.
In contrast to nationwide public media, nonetheless, they may not be consumed – and even identified – by home audiences. Quite, they usually present information to international locations with out dependable impartial media on account of censorship or state-run media monopolies.
The USAGM, for instance, supplies information in 63 languages to greater than 100 international locations. It has been credited with bringing consideration to points equivalent to protests against COVID-19 lockdowns in China and women’s struggles for equal rights in Iran.
However, the independence of USAGM shops has been questioned usually, notably as they’re required to share government-mandated editorials.
Voice of America has been criticised for its concentrate on perceived ideological adversaries such as Russia and Iran. And my very own analysis has discovered it perpetuates stereotypes and the neglect of African nations in its information protection.
Leaving a void
In the end, these international media shops wouldn’t exist if there weren’t advantages for the governments that fund them. Sharing tales and views that assist or promote sure values and insurance policies is an efficient type of “public diplomacy”.
But these worldwide media shops differ from state-controlled media fashions due to editorial techniques that shield them from authorities interference.
The Voice of America’s “firewall”, as an example, “prohibits interference by any US authorities official within the goal, impartial reporting of reports”. Such protections enable journalists to report on their very own governments extra objectively.
In distinction, shops equivalent to China Media Group (CMG), RT from Russia, and PressTV from Iran additionally attain a world viewers in a spread of languages. However they do that by direct authorities involvement. CMG subsidiary CCTV+, for instance, states it’s “committed to telling China’s story to the rest of the world”.
Although RT states it’s an autonomous media outlet, research has found the Russian authorities oversees hiring editors, imposing narrative angles, and rejecting tales.
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Different voices get louder
The largest concern for western democracies is that these different state-run media shops will fill the void the USAGM leaves behind – together with within the Pacific.
Russia, China and Iran are increasing funding for their state-run news outlets, with China having spent more than US$6.6 billion over 13 years on its international media shops. China Media Group is already one of many largest media conglomerates on the earth, offering information content material to more than 130 countries in 44 languages.
And China has already stuffed media gaps left by western democracies: after the ABC stopped broadcasting Radio Australia within the Pacific, China Radio International took over its frequencies.
Worryingly, the variations between shops equivalent to Voice of America and extra overtly state-run shops aren’t instantly clear to audiences, as authorities possession isn’t marketed.
An Australian senator even needed to apologise lately after talking with PressTV, saying she didn’t know the information outlet was affiliated with the Iranian authorities, or that it had been sanctioned in Australia.
Switched off
Trump’s transfer to dismantle the USAGM doesn’t come as an entire shock, nonetheless. Because the authors of Capturing News, Capturing Democracy: Trump and the Voice of America described, the primary Trump administration failed in its makes an attempt to take away the firewall and set up loyalists.
This maybe explains why Trump has resorted to extra drastic measures this time. And, as with most of the present administration’s legally doubtful actions, there was resistance.
The American Overseas Service Affiliation says it is going to challenge the dismantling of the USAGM, whereas the Czech Republic is seeking EU support to maintain Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty on the air.
However for most of the company’s journalists, contractors, broadcasting companions and audiences, it could be too late. Final week the New York Times reported some Voice of America broadcasts had already been changed by music.
