Kari Lake torched by conservative WSJ editors for silencing Iranian lifeline

The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board tore into Kari Lake, President Donald Trump's senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, for shutting down a key information lifeline America uses to send its message to the Iranian people.

Lake, a multiple-time failed candidate for statewide office in Arizona, has worked to dismantle Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, the state-sponsored media services for people outside the country. This comes as Trump is on the brink of potentially ordering military strikes against Iran.

"In the days since Israel began bombing nuclear sites, Iranians have needed access to news and information that can counter Iran’s state propaganda. One of the first places they turned to was RFE’s Persian language service, Radio Farda," wrote the board. "In the first days of the conflict between Iran and Israel, Iranians flocked to Radio Farda and its platform. Traffic surged 344% on the group’s Instagram account with 62.5 million video views while website traffic rose 77%, according to RFE. Viewership also spiked in the Middle East and North Africa."

Despite all of this, however, the board continued, on Lake's watch, "Radio Farda has cut freelancers, furloughed staff and allowed podcasts and social-media accounts to lapse. It has also cut back on broadcasts through Kuwaiti transmitters that supported short-wave radio broadcasts in Iran. This old technology remains a critical source of information in times of crisis or social upheaval, such as today."

All of this comes as Iran puts massive new censorship on the internet, and orders people to delete apps like Telegram and WhatsApp that could help them communicate with the outside world — leaving radio broadcasts the only way people could hear counterprogramming to the regime.

"Mr. Trump knows more than most about the power of social media to drive social change," the board concluded. "As the war unfolds and in its aftermath, Iranians may have a chance to forge a new political destiny. They need truth to counter the regime’s lies, and Radio Farda and U.S. communications technology can help them get it."