WH: Voice Of America Pushes “Chinese Propaganda”

From the editorial board of the Washington Post:

The White House has just confirmed, no doubt unintentionally, that the U.S. government’s premier international broadcaster, Voice of America, is independent from the Trump administration. A shrill commentary posted on the White House website Friday assailed VOA for “promoting propaganda” of the Chinese government about the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The evidence? A tweeted video showing residents of Wuhan watching a light show following the lifting of that city’s lockdown, and another tweet showing that the covid-19 death toll in the United States “exceeds the official China tally.”

For the record, the accusation would be outrageous if it were not simply ridiculous. The video accompanied a link to a straightforward news article — written not by VOA but by the Associated Press — that described the end of the lockdown. The tally of Chinese deaths was taken from the respected covid-19 information site of Johns Hopkins University.

VOA has reported extensively on China’s initial attempts to cover up the coronavirus outbreak and its subsequent disinformation campaign — so much so that Beijing recently barred most of its reporting staff from working inside China. That’s a funny way to treat an organization that, according to the White House, has been pushing Chinese propaganda.