Trump Picks Former TV Host Kari Lake to Lead Voice of America

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Kari Lake, a prominent Arizona Republican and a former TV host, to lead the Voice of America (VOA), the US government’s international broadcasting service, Al Jazeera reports.

The announcement, made Wednesday on Trump’s Truth Social platform, sparked immediate controversy given Lake’s history of promoting conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated claims.

Lake, a former television news anchor who unsuccessfully ran for governor of Arizona, has been a staunch supporter of Trump, echoing his claims of a stolen 2020 presidential election. In his statement, Trump asserted that Lake would ensure VOA broadcasts “American values of Freedom and Liberty…FAIRLY and ACCURATELY,” contrasting this with what he termed “lies spread by the Fake News Media.”

Lake, expressing gratitude to Trump on X (formerly Twitter), described VOA as a “vital international media outlet” dedicated to promoting democracy and truth. She pledged to ensure VOA “excel[s] in its mission: chronicling America’s achievements worldwide.”

However, Lake’s appointment raises serious concerns among media freedom advocates. During her gubernatorial campaign, she consistently repeated Trump’s false allegations of widespread election fraud. This appointment follows a period under Trump’s first presidency marked by accusations of political interference at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA. Reports surfaced then of investigations into VOA journalists perceived as critical of the administration, drawing condemnation from press freedom organizations.

VOA, funded by the US Congress, broadcasts news and information in over 40 languages to a weekly audience of more than 354 million people.