US President Donald Trump has signed an order to strip back the federally-funded news organisation Voice of America, accusing it of being “anti-Trump” and “radical”.
A White House statement said the order would “ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda”, and included quotes from politicians and right-wing media railing against the “leftist”, “partisan” VOA.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll move against the nuclear arsenal and the Army will finally give him the boot.
It must also be weird for the sycophants who he just nominated to staff it too.
The equivalent of “Daddy got you a pink convertible and you get three minutes to drive it before the repo guy comes”
Oh no, his people will keep their jobs. He isn’t getting rid of it, he’s just firing anyone who does anything, and his people will come in and get paid to do nothing. It’s very likely that he can’t just do away with it, but he can just fire the people working there.
I don’t understand the naysayers here.
This is hilarious. Trump wants to simultaneously expand the American empire, while he dismantles the tools of it that he’s too stupid to understand the importance of.
No matter their mission statement, or any tangible benefits they might have provided, both USAID and VOA, were tools of empire. These aren’t mutually exclusive concepts.
Trump’s mission is to weaken the US, NATO, and the EU. Eliminating VoA helps do that. Notice how he isn’t threatening China with invasion, but Canada and Denmark instead.
Because Trump knows that China can and will fight back.
Canada and Denmark are friends of ours that Trump is now throwing salt in their eyes and saying “neener neener” while showing them his ass.
Because of our history, they aren’t fighting back.
If they do, Russia wins.
In what world isn’t Canada fighting back?
Which isn’t to say they shouldn’t, but they are pushing back to all the shit Trump is throwing at them. Just because they’re not launching missiles doesn’t mean they’re not fighting back.
Trump doesn’t want to expand the American empire though. He makes noises about it, but words are cheap. Judging by his actions he wants to create chaos so oligarchs can profit.
The ultrawealthy have no national allegience.
I could see him loving the idea of expansion to manufacture a legacy. Jefferson may have been a philosopher or a slave-romancer but that’s college academic stuff: every middle school student learns he bought Louisiana. McKinley got us as close to an on-paper empire as we got, and they put him on the $500 note for it.
Soft power will never fill the same goal. Being the cultural or moral lighthouse for the West is inherently different from actually raising a flag over their capitals.
Trump may be narcissistic and senile but he still obeys his oligarch masters, probably from the usual motives of greed and fear.
I don’t know what your local children will learn at school but he’s fast earning himself a footnote in the international history books as the epoch that marks the tipping point into waning US power.
I may be wrong but I think the problem with the US cult of presidents/“great man of history” theory is that people like Trump keep the US populace speculating what he “wants” or “thinks” instead of on what his function is and what is actually happening.
Everything Trump does – everything – suddenly makes sense when viewed through the lens of “how does Putin benefit?”
That’s an incredibly myopic take that confuses correlation with causation.
These moves may benefit Putin, but Russia isn’t the only county to benefit. Infact, Russia is in a historically weak position to fill gaps left by a receding American empire.
I’d wager that China is likely to see much more geopolitical gains because they have the resources and capacity to take advantage of the situation.
I’m not saying Putin won’t benefit, just pointing out how limiting it is to view Trump through a singular lens.
Trump has had close business and personal ties with Russia since the 1980s. He very clearly admires dictators in general but Putin in particular, and has praised him on numerous occasions. In Trump’s infamous public call for election interference, it was “Russia, if you’re listening.” Not China, not some other country, Russia.
If you can’t see the obvious signs of causation – not just correlation – you’re the one who needs some coke-bottle specs!
I’m not saying Putin won’t benefit, just pointing out how limiting it is to view Trump through a singular lens.
It’s the explanation – and the only one, to boot – that fits all the pieces. It may be a “singular lens,” bit it is singularly useful!
How does Netanyahu benefit as well.
That’s why we call him JDPON Don - this dumbass is going to dismantle the empire and usher in global proletarian revolution.
That’s why we call him JDPON Don - this dumbass is going to dismantle the empire and usher in global proletarian revolution.
Accelerationist fascists simping for oligarchs under the belief that THIS time it will work out for them. How surprising.
If we’re lucky, we might avoid the World Wars which made many other revolutions possible.
It was mostly a propaganda machine against socialist movements. I’m glad it is gone, but it should have been gone way before Trump. Because he doesn’t deserve credit for shit.
What socialist movements?
“Socialist” movements like:
checks notes
People’s Republic of China with its draconian:
- One Child Policy that almost got me killed because they were trying for force my mother to have an abortion against her will (since I was the second child)
- Rich people and high-ranking party members get away with crimes (as long as they do not go against the paramount leader)
- If you want treatment, you have to wait a long time, and you have to pre-pay, even if its an Emergency Room life and death situation
- 户口 (Hukou, Household Registration) System that confines you to where you’re born, and you cant even to move to other parts of your own country, and if you tried you are treated as a second-class citizen, essentially Casteism
Such “Socialism” aka: State-Capitalism
The communist party of China.
The least communist communist party on the planet.
Every single one of them since the end of World War 2. Voice of America, Radio for Europe, Radio Free Asia they’re all arms of US imperialist propaganda.
How is everything that is “anti-Trump” radical? You fucking dictator.
“If you smell shit everywhere you go it’s probably because you’re covered in it” Anon
Under $300 million a year to spread US propaganda to over 300 million people. That’s a fucking bargain man.
This is going to give up so, SO much soft power because of a snowflake’s ego. This is a bad deal.
I guess this is better than making VoA voice of trump.
I’m wondering if it’s going to be “rebuilt”, personally.
As an American, I would like to apologize that the idiots of this country re-elected Mango Mussolini. And I’m sorry that the rest of the world has to suffer because of this idiot and his cronies.
Waiting for you guys to actually use your second amendment.
Well, there was an attempt but unfortunately he wasn’t a very good shot.
When they send their time travelers, they aren’t sending their best.
Hell, most of them aren’t even using their first ammendment yet.
It’s a pretty scary idea when the odds are very high that we would just get murdered by police or secret service. And in this hypothetical, if we were to fail, Trump would just bring them hammer down even harder on everyone else, making future attempts much more difficult if not impossible. Until the people are organized on a large scale and collectively convinced this is the only option we have left, we have too much to lose with very little chance of success.
Or the 25th?
I thank you for the sentiment, but save your words and don’t spare the ammunition.
usagm is an independent agency. it and its predecessors, and voa, were created by congress. only congress can eliminate them
Yeah, those checks and balances will kick in any day now!
Yeap, any day now.
Yeah, the managers were told to limit programming to the minimum required by law
As someone who used to listen to a lot of shortwave radio, this just bums me out.
I know foreign people who listened to VoA, and now it won’t be there anymore for them.
Makes me wonder who they’ll listen to, who will fill the void, with the VoA being gone.
I know foreign people who listened to VoA, and now it won’t be there anymore for them.
Stuff like this is a perfect example of how little Trump understands soft power. That was an outlet for American ideals (ok, propaganda) and American culture to diffuse across the world. Seeing how power abhors a vacuum, I won’t be surprised when China increasingly fills this void.
Remember, Trump isn’t dancing by his own tune. Who stands to benefit the most from the US undoing their relationships, contracts, defense agreements, and soft power agendas?
Then also remember that at the rate we’re moving, the 1st amendment is or will be dead very soon. Even this comment could end up with me being blacked bagged after not too long.
Right wingers are generally too stupid to think that abstractly.
I won’t be surprised when China increasingly fills this void.
The language barrier makes that unlikely. I think this one is going to remain empty for a while.
These big propaganda stations broadcast in dozens of languages.
Relevant: [source]
DW still does very limited shortwave in Africa, I guess they’ll be happy to take over time/frequency slots but let’s face it the amount of people that you can only reach via short wave is dwindling, they mostly switched to satellite. They rather feed into the local FM broadcast network, and of course you can stream over the internet.
but let’s face it the amount of people that you can only reach via short wave is dwindling, they mostly switched to satellite. They rather feed into the local FM broadcast network, and of course you can stream over the internet.
You would actually be surprised how many poor regions in Central and South America as well as in Africa and Central Asia actually rely on shortwave still.
A lot of it is Christian and right-wing broadcasts, but still, it’s used more than you would think. Not everyone can afford expensive satellite rigs to receive.
RT
RT
?
Russia Today.
It’s basically the Russian Voice of AmericaRussia Today
Does this mean Kari Lake is out of a job? As an Arizonian, I hope she come back here claiming to be our governor again.
Broken clock strikes again.
Glad to see US propaganda go away, sad it was Trump to do it.
Leftist and partisan are not how I, an actual leftist, would describe the various propaganda outlets scattered around the world such as VOA.
It’s a cia op. And literally always was. Since 1942 when it was established.
ml user cries about propaganda. The irony always gives me a chuckle
Always love when someone throws out the no true scotsman fallacy. Nobody but trump is saying this anyway.
