Judge Orders Voice of America Restored as Kari Lake Faces Additional Staff Lawsuit Alleging Pro‑Trump Propaganda and Wartime Censorship
A federal judge ordered Voice of America be restored, even as a new March 23, 2026, lawsuit by veteran VOA journalists names Kari Lake and acting USAGM CEO Michael Rigas, alleging unlawful political control that replaced editorial independence with pro‑Trump propaganda. The suit cites steps including firing contractors, putting more than 1,000 employees on leave, cutting 49 language services to six, canceling AP/Reuters contracts while negotiating to carry One America News content, and wartime censorship—from a glowing Trump retrospective on VOA Persian to suppression of Iran‑war casualty reporting—while USAGM says broadcasts must reflect U.S. policy.
📌 Key Facts
- On March 23, 2026, a group of veteran Voice of America journalists filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., naming plaintiffs including Barry Newhouse, Ayesha Tanzeem, Dong Hyuk Lee and Ksenia Turkova and naming Kari Lake and acting USAGM CEO Michael Rigas as defendants.
- The suit alleges Lake and Trump administration officials illegally interfered in VOA coverage, promoting pro‑Trump propaganda and violating statutory and constitutional protections for VOA’s editorial independence.
- Plaintiffs detail specific actions after President Trump’s March 2025 executive order, including firing contractors, placing more than 1,000 employees on paid leave, and cutting VOA’s 49 language services down to six.
- The complaint says Lake canceled Associated Press and Reuters contracts, negotiated to carry One America News Network content, and that VOA’s Persian service aired an hour‑long, effusive retrospective on Trump’s first year back in office as part of a broader pro‑Trump line on the Iran war.
- Journalists describe a pattern of editorial control—directing favorable coverage, restricting critical reporting, redrawing editorial lines, pressuring language services and handling internal resistance—with on‑the‑record accounts used to flesh out those allegations.
- Plaintiffs say remaining transmissions to Iran, China, North Korea and Kurdish audiences now ‘parrot White House talking points’ and suppress reporting the administration wants downplayed (for example, Iran war death tolls and broader international reaction); they allege an official appointed by Lake requires prior approval for all broadcast guests and that Persian coverage ‘barely mentioned’ an elementary school bombing.
- USAGM responded that taxpayer‑funded broadcasting must reflect U.S. policy and the interests of the American people and reiterated its responsibility for ensuring compliance with the VOA charter.
- The filing and reporting note that Lake previously told Congress she wanted to eliminate the traditional firewall between government and VOA journalists so content could be kept “in alignment with our foreign policy.”
📊 Relevant Data
Hispanic journalists make up approximately 8% of U.S. reporting journalists, compared to about 19% of the U.S. population.
US journalists’ beats vary widely by gender and other factors — Pew Research Center
Black journalists constitute about 6% of U.S. reporting journalists, compared to approximately 13% of the U.S. population.
US journalists’ beats vary widely by gender and other factors — Pew Research Center
The Iranian diaspora primarily formed due to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with many Iranians fleeing political persecution under the new regime.
Iranian diaspora — Wikipedia
USAGM reaches an estimated 12.2 million people weekly in Iran, largely through VOA's Persian service.
FY 2024 CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION — U.S. Agency for Global Media
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- New AP/ABC article identifies four named VOA journalists — Barry Newhouse, Ayesha Tanzeem, Dong Hyuk Lee and Ksenia Turkova — as plaintiffs in a fresh lawsuit filed March 23, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
- The suit alleges that remaining VOA transmissions to Iran, China, North Korea and Kurdish populations now ‘parrot White House talking points’ and suppress news the administration wants downplayed, including Iran war death tolls from U.S. airstrikes and broader international reaction.
- Plaintiffs say an official appointed by Kari Lake to oversee Persian, Kurdish and Afghan services requires prior approval for all broadcast guests, and that an elementary school bombing was ‘barely mentioned’ in Persian‑language coverage.
- USAGM responded that taxpayer-funded broadcasting must reflect U.S. policy and the interests of the American people, and reiterated that it is responsible for ensuring compliance with the VOA charter.
- The piece notes Lake previously told Congress the traditional firewall between government and VOA journalists should be eliminated so content can be kept ‘in alignment with our foreign policy.’
- New York Times reports that a group of Voice of America journalists have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Trump administration officials illegally interfered in VOA coverage and violated statutory and constitutional protections for its editorial independence.
- The suit details specific alleged actions by senior Trump appointees at USAGM and VOA—such as directing favorable coverage of the president and restricting critical reporting—as core examples of unlawful political control over content.
- The article adds further on-the-record descriptions and quotes from plaintiffs about how editorial lines were redrawn, how language services were pressured, and how internal resistance was handled, fleshing out the pattern of alleged interference beyond what was in earlier coverage.
- A new group of veteran Voice of America journalists has filed a separate lawsuit against Kari Lake and acting USAGM CEO Michael Rigas, alleging she is promoting pro‑Trump propaganda and violating statutory and constitutional safeguards for VOA’s editorial independence.
- The suit cites specific steps by Lake after Trump’s March 2025 executive order: firing contractors, putting more than 1,000 employees on paid leave, and cutting VOA’s 49 language services down to six.
- Plaintiffs allege Lake canceled Associated Press and Reuters contracts and negotiated a deal to carry One America News Network content, and that VOA’s Persian service aired an hour‑long, 'glowing' retrospective on Trump’s first year back in office featuring effusive praise, as part of a broader pro‑Trump line on the Iran war.