VOA’s Exclusive, Live Coverage of G7, NATO Summits Popular Among Eurasian and Iranian Audiences
VOA Ukrainian's and VOA Russian’s live, on-the-ground reporting on the G7 Summit in Germany and the NATO Summit in Spain generated more than 1.1 million views on VOA-branded properties and affiliates’ digital channels. More than 20 Ukrainian media outlets republished or cited VOA coverage of the summit that featured simultaneously translated livestreams of President Biden’s press conference, exclusive comments from the State Department's Andrea Kalan and officials including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, as well as expert analytical insights. Experts included former U.S. Foreign Service officer Ilya Levin, Freedom House Vilnius Office Director Vytis Jurkonis, and Jim Townsend of the Transatlantic Security Program.
In addition, VOA Persian had extensive coverage and analysis of President Biden’s trip to the G7 Summit. VOA Persian’s Farhad Pouladi, reported live from Germany, where President Biden met with European allies. In Madrid, Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware) told VOA that Iran should not use hostages for negotiations. “Iran cannot hold innocent dual nationals and use them as bargaining chips in negotiations then expect to normalize relations," said Senator Coons. VOA Persian also aired a special analysis program on President Biden's goals for his trip to Spain and Germany. Total audience engagement on digital platforms surpassed 906,500.
VOA Turkish Responds to Website Ban with Prompt Coverage and Circumvention Tools
On June 30, Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) blocked VOA Turkish’s and German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s websites after the outlets declined to obtain licenses that would have allowed the Turkish government to censor editorial content. VOA Turkish led the coverage on the access ban, establishing a mirror site that gave access to Turkish Internet-users and deploying circumvention tactics to bypass the restrictions. Dozens of websites covered the story on the access ban, and VOA Turkish’s Dilge Timocin went live on Halk TV to discuss the access ban and USAGM’s reaction.
Spanish Service's Coverage of Migrant Tragedy in Texas Engages the Audience on Digital Platforms
VOA Spanish Service covered the migrant smuggling tragedy in San Antonio. Jaime Moreno provided live, on-site reporting that generated 316K+ views across social media. His story of the investigation into the more than 50 deaths and another by Latin American correspondents about mourning families of two unaccompanied teenage victims were adapted into English.
Audiences Across the Globe Engage with VOA's TV Coverage of U.S. Military Installations in Alaska
Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb’s four TV packages from military installations in Alaska – including dramatic narration from the cockpit of an F-16 at supersonic speeds over the Arctic Circle – generated at least 1.6 million views on language service social media sites. One report explaining the strategic importance of Alaska had more than 250,000 views on the Ukrainian service’s Facebook page and another, dealing with threats from China and North Korea, had nearly 400,000 views on VOA Zimbabwe. The packages also have 450,000 views on Vietnamese, 235,000 on Albanian, 225,000 on Spanish and more than 50,000 on Bambara sites.
VOA Hausa Interview Sparks Interest Among Audience on Digital
While talking to VOA Hausa in Abuja, Former Minority Leader of the Nigerian House of Representatives Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu addressed the issue of corruption in governance in the country. He said that the masses don’t hold their leaders accountable and people don’t vote for credible leaders, but politicians who give them money. He continued to say that to stop politicians from stealing, people must stop selling their votes during elections. The on-camera interview has received more than 150k Facebook views and nearly 5,000 engagements.
VOA Khmer the Go-to Site for Post-Election News in Cambodia
VOA Khmer’s comprehensive, original coverage of Cambodia’s June 5 local election results pulled in robust audience numbers. Khmer’s special report about the newly revived opposition party alone received more than 90,000 views on social media within hours. The Candlelight Party (CLP) – established by supporters of the exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy – won just 4 of the 1,652 commune chief posts, while the ruling Cambodian People’s Party swept the rest. But the CLP declared “victory” and celebrated, with Rainsy saying the winning of just 1 commune chief post “broke” Cambodia’s single-party rule.
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