March 30, 2022

The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) filed a lawsuit accusing the Voice of America of withholding communications that demonstrate the broadcasting service’s role in disseminating “messages opposed to American interest” after the VOA ignored over sixty Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the watchdog group.  AAF alleges: “VOA has been infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic state interests, and that the message of VOA had been compromised in a manner that was biased toward the Islamic state factions in Iran” according to a report in Breitbart News.

“We’ve been hearing complaints about the VOA for years,” began American Mideast Coalition for Democracy Co-chair, Tom Harb. “It’s about time they were held accountable for broadcasting anti-American, pro-Iran regime propaganda.”

“The Persian language VOA has been turned over to the pro-mullah National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and they broadcast almost nothing but pro-Iran regime talking points,” continued AMCD Co-chair John Hajjar. “This gives the Iranian people the impression that America fully supports the repressive Islamist government of Iran.”

“The Iranian people feel betrayed by the US,” stated AMCD Co-chair and Iranian-American Hossein Khorram. “And who can blame them when they hear nothing but pro-regime propaganda coming from the supposed ‘voice’ of America? As I understand it, VOA is supposed to broadcast objective news that the people can trust. It is supposed to act as an antidote for propaganda, not a vessel for it. In addition, the Iranian government is not above pressuring VOA employees who have family in Iran by threatening their loved ones.”

AMCD fully supports the efforts of the AAF to expose the corruption at the VOA and to hold them accountable to the American taxpayer.