Russia – BBG and USAGM Watch

5 minute read

Estonian-American Leader, Estonian Politician Objects to Voice of America VOA News Report on Putin’s Russia

January 24, 2023

USAGM Watch Commentary Mari-Ann Kelam, a leader in the Estonian-American community, Estonian politician, former Estonian Foreign Ministry spokesperson,…

Congress needs to launch a bipartisan investigation of the recent censorship of the VOA Vietnamese Service news report and other similar incidents throughout the Voice of America in recent years.

8 minute read

Congress Needs to Investigate Censorship at the Voice of America

January 8, 2023

Commentary By Ted Lipien for Free Media Online There is a long history of censorship at the Voice…

8 minute read

‘Censorship and Falsehoods’ – Voice of America Vietnamese Journalists Blame VOA’s Senior Management | EXCLUSIVE

December 18, 2022

When the senior Voice of America management got caught by the Washington Post on their censoring of the…

4 minute read

Politico Blasts USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett’s Predecessor Michael Pack, Overlooks Her Record at VOA

November 15, 2022

In highlighting its interview with USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett, Politico blasted her short-time predecessor Michael Pack. Politico did…

19 minute read

HISTORY Flora Wovschin — Codename ZORA — Was The Most Active Soviet Spy But Not The Most Valuable Agent of Influence at WWII Voice of America

November 9, 2022

USAGM Watch Commentary By Ted Lipien Following reports that due to multiple security violations the Office of Personnel…

3 minute read

Voice of America reports on detention of its freelance journalist accused of spying for Russia; VOA freelancer denies espionage charges

October 27, 2022

USAGM Watch Commentary The U.S. government-funded Voice of America (VOA) has a new report about the detention in…

8 minute read

Extraordinary Leadership Dysfunction at USAGM Continues

October 4, 2022

The extraordinary leadership dysfunction at USAGM, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, continues under former Voice of America…

VOA Director Amanda Bennett holding a USAGM umbrella for a publicity photo. In 2018, the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the federal agency in charge of VOA, changed its name to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). President Biden nominated Bennett to be USAGM CEO and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 60-36 vote. She faces accusations of mismanagement and security lapses in her previous U.S. government position as the Voice of America (VOA) director.

7 minute read

Despite Scandals at Voice of America, Amanda Bennett Appears Cleared for Senate Confirmation as U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO

September 22, 2022

Despite a long record of unprecedented management scandals during her tenure as Voice of America (VOA) director and…

6 minute read

Miracle Explanation of VOA’s Afghanistan Disaster

August 26, 2022

Voice of America (VOA) Acting Director Yolanda López‘s miracle explanation of the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s (USAGM)…

6 minute read

Voice of America Acting Director Tweets ‘Iran Denies Link to Rushdie Stabbing’, But Why?

August 22, 2022

Acting Director of the Voice of America Yolanda López hopes to send a VOA correspondent to Afghanistan, has…

11 minute read

Voice of America and USAGM Need Rescue

July 9, 2022

Voice of America and USAGM need rescue and good leadership as the U.S. Senate contemplates the nomination of…

2 minute read

Four Republican Members of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Voted Against Nomination of Amanda Bennett for USAGM CEO

June 28, 2022

Jimmy Quinn, national security correspondent for National Review, reported that four Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations…

3 minute read

Sen. Menendez sets meeting to review USAGM CEO nomination of Amanda Bennett

June 20, 2022

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled a business meeting for Thursday, June 23, 2022, to review several…

Amanda Bennett being sworn as VOA Director by Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) CEO John Lansing, April 18, 2016. Kelu Chao, a longtime VOA senior executive and later acting CEO of USAGM (BBG's name since 2018) is also in the photo.

8 minute read

The Worst Is On The Horizon For USAGM

June 14, 2022

USAGM Commentary By The Federalist US Agency for Global Mayhem: The Worst Is On The Horizon The Biden…

Voice of America VOA propaganda video from Russia on reopening of a former McDonald's restaurant, June 12 2022.

5 minute read

Former Voice of America Reporters Shocked by VOA Propaganda Video from Russia

June 13, 2022

Some call it a VOA propaganda video from Russia. USAGM Watch Commentary Raw video footage from the reopening…

5 minute read

McCaul Calls for Additional Scrutiny of USAGM CEO Nominee Amanda Bennett

June 9, 2022

McCaul Calls for Additional Scrutiny of USAGM CEO Nominee Press Release 06.09.22 Media Contact 202-225-5021 Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs…

Amanda Bennett at the Senate Foreign Relations hearing, June 7, 2022, to discuss her nomination for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO position.

2 minute read

Senator Menendez Hints At Tough Questions for Amanda Bennett About USAGM Job

June 8, 2022

Amanda Bennett is likely to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the position of the CEO of…

6 minute read

Mismanagement Charges Against USAGM CEO Nominee Amanda Bennett

June 6, 2022

Former Voice of America director Amanda Bennett, a nominee for U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO position,…

12 minute read

Beware of Government Propaganda “Experts”

June 5, 2022

Disinformation governance by government propaganda experts can be dangerous, judging by the record of the early officials in…

VOA Photo: At the UNESCO conference, a panel moderated by Jessica Jerreat, VOA Press Freedom Editor (Center) with Acting VOA Director Yolanda López (R) delivering the keynote as scholars presented new research.

10 minute read

Voice of America Refuses to Disclose Review of Deleted Work by Former VOA Freelance Reporter Questioned in Ukraine and Arrested in Poland for Alleged Spying for Russia

May 10, 2022

Voice of America refuses requests to disclose the results of its review of VOA news reports by its…

RFE/RL Ukrainian service's journalist Vira Hyrych

3 minute read

RFE/RL Mourns Death of Ukrainian Service Journalist Vira Hyrych in Russian Air Strike in Kyiv

April 29, 2022

USAGM Watch volunteer journalists join Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in mourning the death of Ukrainian…

Sanford “Sandy” Ungar, a journalist, author, and educator, served as the 24th Director of the Voice of America. Prior to becoming VOA Director, Ungar served as Dean of the School of Communication at American University and had an extensive and varied career as an international journalist. He has worked at Foreign Policy magazine, The Washington Post, The Atlantic magazine, UPI, Newsweek magazine, and NPR. After leaving VOA, Ungar was president of Goucher College in Towson, Maryland from 2001 to 2014. In spring 2015 Ungar joined Georgetown University, where he is director of The Free Speech Project.

5 minute read

Asking About Voice of America’s Stalin Peace Prize Winner May Be McCarthyism or Merely Amusing, Former VOA Director Said

April 11, 2022

Former Voice of America (VOA) director Sanford J. Ungar, who served under President Clinton from 1999 to 2001,…

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Afganistan pinned on World atlas, close up view. Red map location pointer on globe planet Earth. 3d illustration.

5 minute read

The Voice of America Fantasyland in Afghanistan

March 29, 2022

The U.S. Agency for Global Media presents the Voice of America Fantasyland in the VOA Acting Director’s statement…

In 2013, the then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress that the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was "practically defunct" in its capacity to tell America's message around the world. Since then, what is now the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and the Voice of America (VOA) have become even more dysfunctional and poorly managed.

2 minute read

U. S. Agency for Global Media USAGM and Ukraine

March 20, 2022

The U.S. Agency for Global Media still shows a press release about its poll in the Russian-occupied part…

1 minute read

Ukraine is the area of decision between Russia and the Free World

March 19, 2022

Ukraine is today “the area of decision between Russia and the Free World” and “the one big problem”…

3 minute read

USAGM Advisory Board Is Not Enough

March 14, 2022

The U.S. Agency for Global Media needs more than just a USAGM Advisory Board. It needs a board…

4 minute read

RFE/RL Suspends Operations In Russia Following Kremlin Attacks

March 7, 2022

RFE/RL PRESS RELEASE WASHINGTON – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has suspended its operations in Russia after local tax authorities…

4 minute read

Voice of America Corrected Aid to Ukraine Map to Include Poland and Slovakia – Hungary and Other Countries Still Missing

March 5, 2022

While the Voice of America corrected its “Aid to Ukraine” map to include Poland and Slovakia after protests…

"Ukrainians on Conflicts... ,"VOA Video Report by Ricardo Marquina and Pablo Gonzalez, February 04, 2022.

8 minute read

EXCLUSIVE Spanish Journalist Arrested in Poland for Alleged Spying for Russia Reported for Voice of America, CPJ Calls for His Release

March 5, 2022

USAGM Watch EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Charges of alleged spying for Russia were made against a Spanish journalist arrested several…

3 minute read

Immigrants Protest Against USAGM Voice of America News Disinformation

March 4, 2022

RUSSIA’s WAR ON UKRAINE NEWS ALERT and COMMENTARY Polish Americans and Slovak Americans have joined Iranian, Chinese, Cuban,…

5 minute read

Voice of America and Ukraine

March 3, 2022

Voice of America and Ukraine: As Putin Threatens, VOA Misses Opportunity to Carry Live Blinken Message to Russian…

2 minute read

Where are U.S.-funded global media in discussion of Russia’s war against Ukraine?, former Voice of America Reporter Dan Robinson Asks About USAGM

March 1, 2022

On Ukraine, former Voice of America reporter Dan Robinson writes, “Yet again, not a single mention of USAGM…

Photograph: New York, New York. A. Marcus Garveyite reading the OWI (Office of War Information) publication Negroes and the War, April 1943. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540, USA. OWI was the Executive Branch agency under the control of the White House. Its Overseas Division produced World War II shortwave radio broadcasts, which were later named the Voice of America (VOA).

2 minute read

Black history hero Homer Smith fought racism at home and Soviet propaganda abroad

February 28, 2022

Smith should be recognized for his principled refusal to contribute to the manipulation of the Western media by…

3 minute read

Russia’s War on Ukraine and DC Public Media

February 26, 2022

COMMENTARY By Ted Lipien Privileged American public media executives, editors, and reporters may not realize how insensitive some…

4 minute read

Horror of Russia’s War on Ukraine Made Trivial in VOA Tweets

February 25, 2022

Under the current U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) leadership, the horror of Russia’s war on Ukraine is…

9 minute read

Russia’s War on Ukraine – BBG conducted a faulty poll in Russian-occupied Crimea – what will USAGM leadership do now?

February 24, 2022

Russia’s war on Ukraine U.S. government-funded reporting is now in the hands of the dysfunctional U.S. Agency for…

9 minute read

USAGM performance in Afghanistan – a threat to journalists in Ukraine

February 13, 2022

USAGM leadership’s approach to Ukraine is dangerous for U.S. Agency for Global Media journalists, including those from Voice…

16 minute read

80 Years of VOA: Different Names of the Voice of America

January 31, 2022

USAGM Watch Commentary 80 years ago today, on February 1, 1942, the first Voice of America (VOA) radio…

Howard Fast OWI Personnel Record Card Voice of America at 80

6 minute read

Voice of America at 80 – VOA’s Pro-Soviet Fellow Travelers and Lessons for Today

January 24, 2022

Voice of America at 80 – the hidden record of VOA’s pro-Soviet fellow travelers, Howard Fast and John…

In 2016 Voice of America (VOA) produced this graphic to illustrate reports on Fidel Castro’s death. It was used as the VOA Spanish Service Facebook Cover image.

2 minute read

Symbolic Justice for Stalin’s Victims, But Not Yet From Voice of America Management

December 25, 2021

Commentaries about Stalin’s victims, Voice of America By Ted Lipien (Tadeusz Lipień) In my Washington Examiner Christmas Day…

Afghanistan Image Brian Williamson VOA News Screen Shot 2021-08-20 at 4.59.56 PM

5 minute read

Deceptive USAGM Numbers

December 20, 2021

Deceptive USAGM numbers hide the lack of relevance and effectiveness of the $800 million federal U.S. Agency for…

2 minute read

At Voice of America, history repeats itself

November 17, 2021

At Voice of America, history repeats itself because of poor USAGM leadership, partisan bias and violations of VOA…

3 minute read

Voice of America Censors ‘Let’s Go Brandon’

November 15, 2021

Voice of America censors “Let’s go Brandon” phrase in an apparent effort to protect President Biden. No VOA…

19 minute read

Possible Biden Nomination of Amanda Bennett Would Offend Immigrant Voters, Risks More Scandals at USAGM

October 8, 2021

USAGM Watch Commentary Politico report suggesting that President Biden may nominate former Voice of America (VOA) director Amanda…

7 minute read

As Terrorists Kill Family Member of DW Journalist, VOA Offers Optimistic Taliban-Focused News from Afghanistan – Example II

August 20, 2021

Voice of America – VOA offers largely optimistic Taliban-focused news from Afghanistan meant to reassure the Afghans, particularly…

7 minute read

As Taliban Kills Family Member of DW Journalist, VOA Offers Optimistic News from Afghanistan – Example I

August 20, 2021

Voice of America – VOA offers largely optimistic Taliban-focused news from Afghanistan meant to reassure the Afghans, particularly…

29 minute read

Voice of America Polygraph.Info Posts Against Russia Fake News Have Near Zero Likes After 4 Years

August 14, 2021

USAGM Watch Commentary Despite being sold to members of the U.S. Congress and U.S. media as one of…

3 minute read

How Zofia Korbońska, Voice of America refugee journalist, campaigned against communism, resisted German-Nazi fascism

August 10, 2021

Zofia Korbońska, a Voice of America refugee journalist, was a remarkable Polish-American woman who fought against two of…

4 minute read

Voice of America VOA News Failed to Report on Rejection of Bipartisan Congressional Friends of Belarus Caucus’ Plea to Biden to Meet Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

July 26, 2021

USAGM Watch Commentary The Voice of America VOA News English-language website has not reported the recent forming of…

3 minute read

Shameful Voice of America VOA News Reporting Failure on U.S.-Germany Nord Stream Deal

July 22, 2021

USAGM Watch Commentary by Ted Lipien I was pleased to see that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), where…