White House accuses US broadcaster Voice of America of promoting ‘Beijing’s propaganda’
- The attack on a government-funded news outlet came as some lawmakers have intensified their criticism of how the Chinese government handled the outbreak
The White House has lashed out at broadcaster Voice of America (VOA), accusing it of amplifying “Beijing’s propaganda” by quoting China’s official coronavirus statistics in its reporting and publishing footage of celebrations marking the end of Wuhan’s lockdown.
The extraordinary attack on a government-funded news outlet came as the Trump administration and some lawmakers have intensified their criticism of how the Chinese government handled the outbreak.
“VOA too often speaks for America’s adversaries – not its citizens,” said the White House in a Thursday missive, adding that the outlet, which is funded through congressional appropriations, was “promoting propaganda” with taxpayers’ money.
“This week, VOA called China’s Wuhan lockdown a successful ‘model’ copied by much of the world – and then tweeted out video of the Communist government’s celebratory light show marking the quarantine’s alleged end,” the release said.
The story that the White House appeared to be referencing was an Associated Press article that the VOA had syndicated on Tuesday, not a staff-written story.