Update from Widakuswara v. Lake
Plaintiffs eager to rebuild VOA following judge’s return-to-work order
This is a monumental decision, and we are deeply grateful. We are eager to begin repairing the damage Kari Lake has inflicted on our agency and our colleagues, to return to our congressional mandate, and to rebuild the trust of the global audience we have been unable to serve for the past year. We know the road to restoring VOA’s operations and reputation will be long and difficult. We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda.
— Patsy Widakuswara, Jessica Jerreat and Kate Neeper (March 17, 2026)
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Press Freedom
In authoritarian countries, the silencing of VOA is deafening
President Trump’s executive order succeeded in doing what authoritarian leaders had tried to do for decades: silence VOA.
- Newsmax executive named as Voice of America’s deputy (The New York Times - March 18, 2026)
- Former Newsmax executive Christopher Wallace named as Voice of America deputy director (The Wrap - March 18, 2026)
- Judge orders Voice of America to restart all news operations (The New York Times - March 17, 2026)
- Judge reinstates 1,000 Voice of America employees, deems wind-down illegal (The Washington Post - March 17, 2026)
- Judge orders 1,000 Voice of America staffers back to work in rebuke to Kari Lake (NPR - March 17, 2026)
- Judge orders sidelined Voice of America employees back to work (Politico - March 17, 2026)
“To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful.”
Edward R. Murrow Director of the U.S. Information Agency (1961-1964)