Government-funded Voice of America amplifying Chinese propaganda: WH

Voice of America (VOA), the US-funded global media outlet, is amplifying Chinese propaganda on coronavirus, the White House said, launching a tirade against the news network that broadcasts in multiple languages mostly in the developing world.

The White House in its newsletter 1600 Daily was referring to the VOA's broadcast terming the lockdown in China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic, as a "successful model" copied by many countries.

The newsletter 1600 Daily gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the White House, the official residence and workplace of the president of the US.

It also provides a daily summary of news and events from the White House.

"Journalists should report the facts, but VOA has instead amplified Beijing's propaganda. This week, VOA called China's Wuhan lockdown a successful 'model' copied by much of the world and then tweeted out a video of the Communist government's celebratory light show marking the quarantine's alleged end, the White House said.

Even worse, while much of the US media takes its lead from China, VOA went one step further: It created graphics with Communist government statistics to compare China's coronavirus death toll to America's. As intelligence experts point out, there is simply no way to verify the accuracy of China's numbers, the White House alleged.

VOA is a global news network funded by American taxpayers. It spends about USD 200 million each year on its mission to tell America's story and present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively to people around the globe, the White House said in its daily newsletter.

Today, however, VOA too often speaks for America's adversaries not its citizens. The coronavirus pandemic is no exception. Secrecy from the Communist Party of China allowed the deadly virus to spread across the world, it said.

The coronavirus story is just one example of this pattern, it said.

Last year, VOA helped highlight the Twitter feed of Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif while he was issuing threats against the US and sharing Russian anti-US propaganda videos, the White House said.

VOA will represent America, its guiding Charter reads. And for years after its founding during World War II, VOA served that mission by promoting freedom and democracy across the world for audiences who longed for both.

Today, VOA is promoting propaganda instead and your tax dollars are paying for it, alleged the White House.

Primarily viewed by foreign audiences, VOA produces digital, TV and radio content in 47 languages. Based out of Washington, DC, VOA is overseen by the US Agency for Global Media, an independent agency of the government.

Funds are appropriated annually by Congress under the budget for embassies and consulates.