David Folkenflik

Trump Flunky Kari Lake Taps MAGA Propaganda Network, OAN, to Be the Voice of Voice of America

Posted by on May 7, 2025 at 12:33 pm. 1 Comments :

From the very first day that Donald Trump reoccupied the White House, he has orchestrated an assault on the free press and any journalistic effort to report the truth about him. There is nothing that irks him more than accurate reporting of his wrecking of the economy and his contempt for the Constitution.

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Donald Trump, OAN

Trump’s anti-media crusade has taken the form of banishing news outlets like the Associated Press from all presidential events, and stacking the White House press corps with sycophantic Trump-fluffers…

SEE ALSO: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

The Trump regime’s campaign to undermine the free press is not limited by international borders. He put one of his most fervent cult devotees, Kari Lake, in a position to control the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees multiple broadcasting networks that inform people in countries that have no other source for reputable news. The networks under the auspices of the USAGM include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Television Martí, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Voice of America (VOA).

Now David Folkenflik is reporting for NPR (an American public broadcaster that Trump is trying to defund) that “Kari Lake says OAN’s far-right coverage will fuel Voice of America.” Folkenflik writes that…

“Senior presidential adviser Kari Lake appears to have resolved any doubts about what she wants to do with the Voice of America. Lake seeks for it to look and sound a lot like the far-right One America News Network.”

[Lake said that] “the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is excited to announce a partnership with One America News Network (OAN) to provide newsfeed services to USAGM networks, including Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Martí, and Voice of America (VOA). […] I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs.”

The notion that Lake can ensure the VOA outlets of “reliable and credible options” by teaming up with one of the most dishonest purveyors of ultra-right propaganda would be laughable if it weren’t so harmful. And since she has already put the staff of VOA and the other USAGM networks on indefinite leave, OAN will be the only source of news for the these networks.

The “quality” of reporting by OAN is notoriously untrustworthy. After all, they hired former GOP representative, MAGA Matt Gaetz, as a primetime host after he crashed and burned as Trump’s attorney general nominee. And they have been the subject of massive defamation lawsuits, one of which they already settled, admitting that their reporting was false.

MORE HERE: OAN Concedes that ‘There Was No Widespread Voter Fraud’ to Settle Defamation Lawsuit

VOA insiders are justifiably appalled. Their White House bureau chief, Patsy Widakuswara, said that “Congress mandated VOA to report reliable and authoritative news, not outsource its journalism to outlets aligned with the president’s agenda.” And the former CFO of USAGM, Grant Turner, said that “Kari Lake providing One America News Network to our global audiences makes a mockery of the agency’s history of independent non-partisan journalism.”

It is entirely understandable that honest journalists would be disgusted by Trump and his lackey, Lake. But it is not unsurprising that the Trumpists would exploit and abuse their power to spread their disinformation to the world. They are already doing it here at home. Fortunately, however, they are losing in the courts, and in the court of public opinion. But we must remain vigilant and resolved to resist the totalitarian Trump agenda if we are to prevail.

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BUSTED: Fox News Caught Trying to Cover Up Another Sexual Harassment Scandal

Posted by on January 11, 2018 at 3:35 pm. 1 Comments :

The epidemic of revelations regarding men in powerful positions exploiting women for sex continues unabated. Two years ago no one would have imagined that so many high-powered public figures would be unemployed today due to such grossly improper conduct. And while Donald Trump actually admitted to criminal sexual abuse, the repercussions for such misbehavior were generally mild, if any.

Fox News Rupert Murdoch

As the volume and frequency of these scandals escalated, Fox News stood out as a den of iniquity. The network’s CEO, Roger Ailes, was fired for multiple incidents of sexual harassment. Then their biggest star, Bill O’Reilly, was tossed out after the discovery of tens millions of dollars paid to secure the silence of his victims. Fox also jettisoned its president, Bill Shine; host Eric Bolling; Fox Sports President, Jamie Horowitz; and VP of Fox News Latino, Francisco Cortes, all for similarly abhorrent misconduct. Although there were numerous men ousted from prominent positions in a variety of industries, it seemed like Fox News was running an enterprise rife with sexual depravity and predation.

So it was a little peculiar last month when Fox announced that its chief Washington correspondent, James Rosen, was leaving the company after eighteen years. There was no reason given and no further comment. There were no testimonials or teary goodbyes on the air. He was just there one day and gone the next. And it wasn’t until this week that David Folkenflik of NPR discovered what had actually happened:

“According to Rosen’s former colleagues, however, he had an established pattern of flirting aggressively with many peers and had made sexual advances toward three female Fox News journalists, including two reporters and a producer. And his departure followed increased scrutiny of his behavior at the network, according to colleagues.”

Folkenflik’s article goes into detail about Rosen’s deplorable activities. He also noted that Rosen’s affairs were exposed at a time when the network’s owner and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, was trying to play down the scummy state of Fox News. Murdoch told an interviewer at Sky News (which he also has part ownership of), that Ailes was the only problem at Fox, despite the fact that all the people and problems listed above were already known. Following Murdoch’s comments, the women of Fox News let it be known that they weren’t having it.

It appears that Fox News was deliberately attempting to suppress the Rosen story to avoid further embarrassment. And they nearly got away with it. But it makes one wonder how many other sleazebags were quietly shoved out, or how many may still be working for Fox. Sure, there are lots of vile men lurking around the offices of many companies. But is there any one company that has had as many as Fox News? It certainly speaks to the environment that Fox created for its staff and the corporate culture that seems to have tolerated the abuse and oppression of the women at Fox News.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Murdoch’s World: Book Reveals Fox News Used Fake Blog IDs To Bash Critics

Posted by on October 20, 2013 at 8:21 pm. 8 Comments :

A new book has exposed another nefarious and unethical activity by Fox News. NPR Media reporter David Folkenflik’s “Murdoch’s World” has exposed that Fox has deployed hundreds of fake blog accounts in order to rebut critics on the Internet. This may seem like small game for a news enterprise that has admitted to hacking into thousands of cell phones, emails, and computers, including the phone a murdered schoolgirl, but it is characteristic of the sort of unscrupulous tactics engaged in by the Fox gang of thugs and slanderers.

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This passage from the book tells the story of Fox’s shameless behavior:

“On the blogs, the fight was particularly fierce. Fox PR staffers were expected to counter not just negative and even neutral blog postings but the anti-Fox comments beneath them. One former staffer recalled using twenty different aliases to post pro-Fox rants. Another had one hundred. Several employees had to acquire a cell phone thumb drive to provide a wireless broadband connection that could not be traced back to a Fox News or News Corp account. Another used an AOL dial-up connection, even in the age of widespread broadband access, on the rationale it would be harder to pinpoint its origins. Old laptops were distributed for these cyber operations. Even blogs with minor followings were reviewed to ensure no claim went unchecked.”

This was apparently a sophisticated and complex operation that involved numerous people and endured over time. In fact, there is nothing to indicate that they are not still doing it. However, the part that stands out to me is the bit at the end that says “Even blogs with minor followings were reviewed to ensure no claim went unchecked.”

Might that include News Corpse? This website has made its reputation as a dedicated and effective critic of Fox News. The articles are studiously researched and documented. And it has had its share of arrogant and aggressive commenters over the years. Under the circumstances, it would not be surprising if some of them were Fox News sockpuppets sent to harass, distract, and distort the messages presented here.

Folkenflik’s book specifically mentions the Fox News communications executives who would have overseen this venture. Irena Briganti is a notorious bully who has earned the disrespect of her colleagues. Her boss, Brian Lewis, was just terminated and escorted out of Fox’s headquarters by security. That story is still unfolding. One thing that we can rest assured of is that Fox will come out swinging when they get a whiff of this news. It’s the Fox way.