(Washington, DC) – In response to a statement in a daily email from the White House falsely declaring that the Voice of America has “amplified Beijing’s propaganda” in its coronavirus reporting, PEN America defended the integrity of VOA and the high quality of its journalism.
“This appears to be yet another unfounded assault by the Trump White House on truth and the news media—in this case an American institution, a flagship, publicly-owned broadcaster known around the world as a model of good journalism,” said PEN America Washington director Thomas O. Melia. “Donald Trump and his minions have gone to extraordinary lengths in their efforts to evade accountability and conceal the truth from the American public in the context of the current pandemic. Voice of America has done excellent work in broadcasting to the Chinese people the truth about their government’s coverup of the virus, as a statement from VOA director Amanda Bennett today made clear. An apology to the many journalists at VOA is in order.”
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