Amanda Bennett served as the 29th director of Voice of America from 2016 to 2020.
For almost 80 years, Voice of America has shown the best of America and our values to millions of people around the world. It has told people living on a diet of state propaganda things they wouldn’t otherwise know.
Without VOA, people in Iran would have heard only one side of the story when an American drone strike killed Qasem Soleimani. Without VOA, Chinese citizens would have been unaware of the full text of an address by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, only a censored version edited to remove all criticism of Beijing.
Now the Trump administration is doing its best to destroy this national treasure and the respect it has earned for itself and our country. Continue reading.