Voice of America Faces Legal Challenge Over Editorial Independence

Four veteran Voice of America journalists and three press freedom organizations filed a lawsuit Monday against the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), accusing the Trump administration of transforming the global news agency into a propaganda arm.

The lawsuit, known as Newhouse v. USAGM, targets the agency’s acting CEO Michael Rigas and Kari Lake, a former television anchor who unsuccessfully ran for Arizona governor in 2022. Lake served in a USAGM leadership role until March 7, when a federal judge ruled her appointment legally void.

Filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the legal action claims Lake and USAGM have undermined VOA’s editorial independence by promoting pro-Trump messaging on air, violating both federal law and First Amendment principles. The plaintiffs argue that VOA is no longer delivering the objective news required by its mandate, instead being forced to echo White House talking points while suppressing unfavorable stories.

This legal challenge comes just one week after a significant victory for VOA journalists, when a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of hundreds of staff members who had been placed on paid leave for the past year. The judge determined that Lake had exceeded her authority in those actions. The administration is currently appealing that ruling.

The individual journalists named in the lawsuit include Barry Newhouse, recently the acting director of VOA’s Central News Division; Ayesha Tanzeem, director of VOA’s South & Central Asia Division; Dong Hyuk Lee, chief of VOA’s Korean Service; and Ksenia Turkova. They are joined by press freedom organizations PEN America, Reporters sans Frontiers, and its U.S. affiliate, Reporters Without Borders.

Turkova, who was born in Russia, explained her involvement in a Facebook post: “I joined the lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for Global Media—to protect the integrity of VOA programming and to challenge unlawful government interference in news reporting. The integrity of VOA’s content is not just a legal requirement — it is a matter of national interest.”

The plaintiffs collectively stated that VOA’s journalism has historically provided those in authoritarian societies a glimpse of democracy, adding that “Without editorial integrity, VOA will be no different than government mouthpieces our audiences already here in their own country.”

Voice of America has a storied history dating back to World War II, when it was founded to broadcast factual accounts of the war into Nazi-occupied territories where independent media had been silenced. Until recently, the organization reached 361 million people weekly in more than 100 countries through 49 language services.

Shortly after taking office in his second term last March, President Trump characterized the news agency’s broadcasts as “radical propaganda” and drastically reduced its operations to the minimum size legally permitted. Under Lake’s direction, all but six of VOA’s language services were shuttered.

Summer Lopez, co-CEO of PEN America, emphasized the organization’s historical reliance on VOA’s reporting for its work defending writers and journalists globally. “Until the unconstitutional acts of the Trump administration, VOA has long served as a vital source of independent reporting and information in authoritarian countries,” Lopez said.

Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders, Inc., added: “The Trump administration has made clear that if it can’t eliminate VOA, it wants to turn it into a political propaganda machine, cheerleading Trump’s agenda. That is at odds with VOA’s mission to inform millions around the world who lack regular access to authentic, trustworthy journalism.”

The case is being supported by the Government Accountability Project, Democracy Defenders Fund, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, and the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School.