OPINION
“How Voice of America lost control of its website to obscene Russian trolls for eight years” by Ted Lipien, co-founder of BBG – USAGM Watch, in The Washington Examiner.
For eight years a hacked and hijacked Voice of America (VOA) Russian Service website hosted in Russia showed a ritualistic and simulated torture, humiliation and murder of an American man without anyone at VOA or its parent federal agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), formerly called the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), taming any action to stop it. Presumably, former VOA directors and agency CEO did not know about it, while VOA’s site administrators and contributors, including several VOA Russian Service broadcasters and journalists, forgot about their inactive blog.
As a VOA employee, I am very troubled by the letter signed by 14 activists, I mean reporters and editors, at VOA.
I feel these actions endanger my job and the jobs of hundreds of other, responsible VOA employees.
If these activists feel so strongly about the direction of VOA, the only honorable thing for them to do is resign. They should not endanger the jobs of the hundreds of other journalists who didn’t sign their whiny, misguided and totally delusional letter.