VOA Director’s statement on VOA’s exclusion from Facebook’s news content labeling policy
The Voice of America welcomes Facebook management’s decision to maintain a clear distinction between state-controlled and public service media in its news content labeling policy.
Facebook’s decision to label only media outlets “that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government as state-controlled media” clearly excludes publicly funded media like VOA with a legal firewall that ensures complete editorial independence.
Since first codified in 1976 by President Gerald Ford, VOA’s firewall continues to ensure the integrity of its journalism and its journalists and the prevention of “any undue influence or pressure on VOA by another U.S. government agency or official.”
About VOA
Voice of America reaches a global weekly audience of more than 354 million people in 49 languages. VOA programs are delivered on satellite, cable, shortwave, FM, medium wave, streaming audio and video and more than 2,350 media outlets worldwide. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.
