VOA’s Value-Added Coverage of U.S. Reaction to Russia’s Illegal Annexations in Ukraine Draws Viewers
Russia's illegal annexations of Ukrainian regions and the sabotage of the Nordstream pipeline spurred an increase in audiences turning to VOA, with coverage providing exclusive U.S. reaction garnering more than 2.7 million views and tens of thousands of interactions on social media. VOA Russian and Ukrainian services' content featured live interactives from VOA correspondents, interviews with seven U.S. lawmakers, U.S. expert analysis and foreign investors from Russia on the effect of mobilization on business in Russia; live, simultaneous translation of the NATO Secretary-General's impromptu news conference on Ukraine's proposed accelerated entry into NATO and of the UNSC on Nordstream and condemnation of Russia’s annexations; and video of Russians crossing the border in response to Russia's mobilization announcement.
More Than a Dozen Media Outlets Cite VOA Bangla's Exclusive Interview with Bangladeshi Prime Minister
In an hour-long exclusive interview with VOA Bangla, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke about a wide range of national, regional, and global issues. She commented at length on the humanitarian crisis involving the displaced Rohingya refugees in her country. "Bangladesh will not be able to accept or shelter one more Rohingya," Prime Minister told VOA, citing growing economic challenges. "We reached our limit." The interview in which she also defended her government’s record on human rights and freedom of speech, garnered more than a million views on VOA Bangla Facebook and was widely cited by more than a dozen Bangladeshi media outlets. In addition, the Hasina interview increased website traffic by 40% last week.
Major Media Outlets Cite VOA's Exclusive Coverage of Burkina Faso Coup
VOA French and Bambara were on top of breaking news out of Burkina Faso, with immediate reporting from Ouagadougou, special programming, and the first interview granted to any outlet by Burkina Faso’s new military leader. Ibrahim Traore spoke about tension as his troops tried to control Ouagadougou. Cited by AP, The Washington Post, ABC News, and Yahoo News, the interview generated 350k combined Facebook views on VOA French and VOA Bambara. VOA Bambara's coverage of the coup generated two million views online. VOA French coverage generated 626k engagement actions and 1.1 million Facebook views.
VOA's Reporting on U.S. Response to Russia on Use of Nuclear Weapons Cited by Many Media Outlets
A video report by senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine on the U.S. warning to Russia's President not to use any type of nuclear weapons against Ukraine got a lot of attention in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, with more than 20 outlets republishing it including Sot News (Albania); Gazeta Scanner (Kosovo); Koha Jone (Albania); Dosja (Albania); 1UA TV (Ukraine); CNA (Albania); Newsbreak (Philippines); VOAL (Albania); Kosova.info (Kosovo); Gazeta dita (Albania); ABC News (Albania); Panorama (Albania); Demokracia (Kosovo); Muhabarishaji (Tanzania); Ground News (Canada); Vizion (Albania); Syri TV (Albania); AlfaPress (Albania).
VOA Mandarin’s Interview with Taiwanese Businessman Generates Significant Audience Engagement
VOA Mandarin’s in-depth reporting on the fallout from China’s zero-COVID policy and heightened tensions with Taiwan on the business environment, generated significant audience interest. The service’s interview with a Taiwanese businessman alone generated 530,000 views on Twitter. Uncertain of China’s policies and fed up with lockdowns, blackouts and factory closures, Liao Jinzhang said he quit his business of 20 years in southern China and returned to Taiwan. Active on social media, he says it’s his duty to share his experiences, particularly what he learned about how the Chinese Communist Party hides the truth.
VOA Spanish's Live Coverage of Hurricane Ian Engages the Audience
VOA’s Spanish service produced 150+ daily live and prerecorded reports on the devastating impact of Hurricane Ian and the U.S. emergency aid response, setting a record presence on affiliate programing during special coverage. Correspondents traveled to Florida’s hardest-hit areas, reporting on the storm’s destruction and offering the audience first-hand accounts from residents who lost everything. Facebook lives attracted thousands of views. Coverage received more than 119K views on YouTube. Tracking the hurricane was among the top-viewed web stories with more than 7.5K page views. The story Hispanics on Florida’s West Coast was shared by Univision Kansas. In addition, VOA Spanish's content was used by a Central News affiliate in Nigeria.
VOA Persian’s Exclusive Interview with Prince Reza Pahlavi Engages the Audience
VOA Persian has been covering 18 days of nationwide protests in Iran. In addition to producing daily special programs about the protests, VOA Persian aired an exclusive interview with Prince Reza Pahlavi (165K YouTube views) who said that the protesters need more international support: “The young people protesting in Iran… need international support… from governments and countries around the world.” He also said that the regime should be paralyzed: “The system in Iran must be disrupted…the youth in Iran know how to effectively paralyze the system.” Total audience engagement on all digital platforms surpassed 3,003,000.
VOA Programming Highlights are compiled based on information available from multiple sources at the time of posting. This information constantly evolves. If you intend to cite to information posted in VOA Highlights, please consult VOA Public Relations at publicrelations@voanews.com to ensure it is accurate and current.