President-elect Donald Trump has named Kari Lake as his pick for the next director of Voice of America, the publicly funded broadcast network that faced criticism during his first term.
Lake, a former local news anchor and prominent Trump ally, will be appointed by the incoming head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Trump revealed Wednesday in a Truth Social post. The U.S. Agency for Global Media oversees Voice of America.
Lake will "ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media," Trump said on Wednesday.
Kari Lake began her media career in the early 1990s and served as an anchor for Phoenix's KSAZ-TV from 1999 to 2021. She left her role shortly before launching a gubernatorial campaign, securing the Republican nomination with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Her campaign was marked by controversies, including her promotion of false claims that Trump won the 2020 presidential election and her calls to imprison those who acknowledged his defeat, including her Democratic opponent, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Lake narrowly lost to Hobbs in what became the closest gubernatorial race of the year but refused to concede. Her lawsuit contesting the election results lasted nearly two years and was ultimately rejected at three levels of Arizona state courts.
In a social media post Wednesday night, Lake wrote that she was "honored" to have been selected for the role, adding that "under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America's achievements worldwide."
What is Voice of America?
Voice of America (VOA) is an international broadcaster that delivers content in over 40 languages through online platforms, radio, and television.
Voice of America (VOA) began broadcasting in 1942 and currently operates with around 2,000 employees and an annual budget of approximately $260 million. It is overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which is classified as an independent federal agency.
In his first term, Trump frequently clashed with VOA, accusing it of promoting Chinese propaganda after it aired a segment featuring a light show celebrating the reopening of Wuhan, the city where the COVID-19 pandemic originated.
