Pompeo Blasts Tech Censors, ‘Woke-ism’: ‘Authoritarianism Cloaked As Moral Righteousness’

Secretary of State Mike�Pompeo on Monday criticized “wokenessâ€
and political correctness within the official government Voice of
America broadcaster after some employees protested his plan to
speak to official U.S. broadcasters at VOA headquarters.

Mr. Pompeo said Voice of America, which broadcasts to a global
audience beyond U.S. shores, had “lost its voice†and needs to
step up efforts to promote democracy, freedom and American values,
 instead of criticizing the United States.

Mr. Pompeo said that, as with other government agencies, the
international broadcast outlets had lost their way after the end of
the Cold War in the early 1990s.

“Many wrote that history was over. We allowed security
protocols to lapse, and VOA lost its commitment to its founding
mission,†Mr. Pompeo said, according to his prepared remarks.
“Its broadcasts had become less about telling the truth about
America, and too often about demeaning America.â€

VOA’s parent, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, also lost its
ability to grant security clearances after foreign nationals were
given access to secrets without proper vetting of employees
at VOA, RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia and other broadcasters.

Congress sought to strengthen broadcasting by creating a new
chief executive officer position for the USAGM, which oversees the
networks that receive more than $700 million annually in taxpayer
funding.

Mr. Pompeo noted that some VOA employees had protested his
appearance and did not want his remarks broadcast over VOA’s
networks.

“Think about that,†he said. “We are all parts of
institutions with duties and responsibilities higher than any of
us. And this kind of censorial instinct is dangerous. It’s
morally wrong. And it’s against your mandate.â€

“Censorship, wokeness, political correctness, it all
points in one direction — authoritarianism cloaked as moral
righteousness,†Mr. Pompeo added, noting the recent
purge of voices on social media platforms Twitter and Facebook and
restrictions on social media apps by Apple.

“This is not who we are, as Americans. It’s not what Voice
of America should be,†he said. “It’s time to put
‘woke-ism’ to sleep.â€

Mr. Pompeo said in a speech broadcast around the world in more
than 40 languages that official and semi-official broadcasters
should acknowledge America’s faults and shortcomings, but provide
better balance.

“But this isn’t the Vice of America, focusing on everything
that’s wrong with our great nation,†he said. “It certainly
isn’t the place to give authoritarian regimes in Beijing or
Tehran a platform.â€

Mr. Pompeo said the VOA’s mission is to promote democracy,
freedom and American values, a mission that sets them apart from
private news outlets like MSNBC and Fox News.

Official broadcasters are tasked with giving voice to
populations struggling under totalitarian and authoritarian rule in
places like China and Iran.

“You’re the voice of American exceptionalism. You’re the
tip of freedom’s spear,†he said.

Mr. Pompeo said the administration has been working to fix
problems at the broadcasters, through better vetting of employees
and reorienting VOA back to its mission of “truth and unbiased
reporting.â€

The administration appointed conservative documentary filmmaker
Michael Pack to head the USAGM, and recently appointed conservative
Robert Reilly, a former VOA director to head VOA. Other
conservatives recently appointed include Victoria Coates as head of
Middle East broadcasting and Stephen Yates as head of Radio Free
Asia.

Mr. Pompeo also contended VOA had been “rubber-stampingâ€
visas for foreign national employees, including from China. “We
shouldn’t be doing that, he said.

“The Trump Administration isn’t trying to politicize these
institutions,†he added. “We’re trying to de-politicize
them,†he said.

The secretary of state also said China last year spread
propaganda surrounding violent protests last summer in a bid to
promote the authoritarian communist system. Mr. Pompeo said the
Chinese Communist Party sought to exploit the tragic death of
George Floyd by asserting the communist system was superior to the
American democratic model.

“During the best of times, the PRC ruthlessly imposes
communism. Amid the most difficult challenges, the United States
secures freedom,†Mr. Pompeo said, repeating a comment made last
year. “There’s no moral equivalence. This is a self-evident
truth. It’s not fake news for you to broadcast that this is the
greatest nation the world has ever known.â€

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Pompeo Blasts Tech Censors, ‘Woke-ism’: ‘Authoritarianism
Cloaked As Moral Righteousness’ appeared first on Harbingers Daily.

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