John,
During World War II, the U.S. government created Voice of America to broadcast factual, independent news into countries ruled by authoritarian regimes—places where propaganda thrived and the truth was silenced.
The idea was simple: show, don’t tell. Let the values of free speech speak for themselves—through journalism rooted in facts, not power.
Last week, Kari Lake—a failed MAGA Senate candidate now serving as Trump’s appointee to the U.S. Agency for Global Media—announced a deal to make the far-right outlet One America News Network (OAN) a news producer for Voice of America.
In case you aren’t familiar with OAN: it’s the same network that helped spearhead Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, platformed January 6 apologists, and gave Matt Gaetz his own primetime show.
Today, it’s full-on authoritarian state media—airing nonstop praise of Trump and amplifying his most dangerous lies.
And now, OAN is Trump and Kari Lake’s choice to represent America to the world.
It’s happening on your dime—funded by federal dollars.Lake claims this is about efficiency. But what’s really happening is that OAN is being given access to Voice of America’s global audience of 360 million people—turning a fringe propaganda outlet into a government-sanctioned voice.
It’s a disturbing reversal of everything America once stood for.
Our nation is no longer a beacon of freedom and hope for those living under oppression. The most powerful democracy in modern history is now sliding toward authoritarian rule—and Trump and Lake are using our tax dollars to make it happen.
At COURIER, we’re fighting back, at a massive scale.
Last week alone, COURIER’s TikTok reached 107 million views from 32 million unique viewers.
We’re proving that truth can survive—and win—in today’s media landscape. And we’re doing it without corporate funding, without billionaire owners, and without fear.
Contribute nowThanks for standing with us,
The COURIER Team