Federal Court Orders Reopening of Voice of America

A federal court in the United States has ordered the reopening of the international broadcaster “Voice of America” (VOA), which had been shut down by the administration of former President Donald Trump. The court ruled that the way the outlet was closed was unlawful. It also ordered that journalists who lost their jobs be reinstated. This was reported by BBC Online.

According to the report, District Court Judge Royce Lamberth delivered the ruling. In it, he instructed the relevant authorities to restore VOA’s broadcasting within one week. The media outlet was originally established during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda. However, within weeks of returning to power for a second term, Trump issued an executive order initiating steps to shut down the organization. Officials in his administration accused VOA of being “left-leaning and biased.” At the same time, Trump also ordered the closure of other broadcasters such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia.

The Trump administration appointed Kari Lake as the head of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA and related international broadcasters. After assuming office, Kari Lake laid off more than 85 percent of the agency’s workforce. At VOA alone, more than one thousand employees lost their jobs. Many others had been placed on paid administrative leave since last year.

Last week, Judge Lamberth ruled that Kari Lake did not have the authority to dismiss USAGM employees because she had not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

In Tuesday’s ruling, the judge said that the decision to dismiss journalists was arbitrary and unreasonable. He also noted that the government failed to consider legal obligations regarding which languages and regions VOA is required to serve.

The case was filed by three VOA journalists. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, said in response to the ruling, “We hope the American people will continue to support our journalistic mission. Our goal is to deliver news, not propaganda.”

Before it was shut down, VOA broadcast in nearly 50 languages across television, radio, and digital platforms. Trump’s stance against VOA is being seen as part of his broader criticism of the U.S. media. Various studies have shown that audiences in the United States increasingly view the country’s news media as politically divided.