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Trump Scrambles to Restore the Voice of America's Farsi Service

Some people have to learn things the hard way. When Donald Trump killed off the Voice of America (VOA), he didn't think that soft power or influencing people around the globe was worth anything. Now that there is a hot war going on in Iran, he has suddenly realized (or been told to realize by his staff), that countering the Iranian state propaganda with the truth might be a good idea. Maybe having the Voice of America broadcast the truth in Farsi (Persian) to the Iranian people as a counter to Iranian state radio and television wasn't waste or fraud after all. How could he have known?

Now that someone in the administration realizes that countering Iranian propaganda in Iran could be important, the Voice of America has rehired several dozen Farsi speakers who were put on administrative leave in March. Together they used to produce 4 hours of Farsi content every day. Staffers who speak some other languages have also been called back. Kari Lake runs what is left of VOA. When CNN asked Lake for a comment, her spokesperson had no comment.

About 50 full-time staff members work in the Farsi news service and another 50 are part timers. All of them have been recalled and told to report for work. Contractors who work for the unit have not been told to restart work. Nevertheless, late Friday, the service was on the air reporting on the war between Israel and Iran. The VOA Farsi language Website was also back. The top headline yesterday evening was: "The Israeli army issued an 'urgent warning' to all Iranian citizens: immediately close down weapons factories and their support institutions." The headline under a photo of Trump says: "Trump warns Islamic Republic: If you attack America, there will be an unprecedented and complete military response you will encounter." We don't know if Google translate got this right, but it seems plausible.

Patsy Widakuswara, one of the VOA journalists who has been sidelined, did have a comment, though. She said: "VOA's role in providing independent, factual and authoritative news has been proven throughout countless times of crisis. But after months off the air, we've already lost a lot of audience and credibility. They should bring us all back so we can respond to breaking news in all parts of the world." A group of journalists have sued the government to get it to reverse the shutdown of the VOA, arguing that Congress created the VOA so only Congress can terminate it. VOA's annual budget is $267.5 million, which is a tiny drop in the bucket as compared to the overall federal budget. On the other hand, that's enough money for about 8 military parades, so continuing the funding is obviously a tough call. (V)



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