‘I’ve spoken a lot about India’: US Undersecretary flags New Delhi as priority for online diplomacy

Rogers made the comments while testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 31. She said Asia would be a major priority for USAGM as the US tries to push back against growing information campaigns by China and other authoritarian governments. 

“Asia, huge focus,” Rogers told lawmakers, according to a report by Indian news agency IANS. 

The comments build on remarks Rogers made at a separate State Department digital press briefing earlier this year, where she described India as “a giant tech market” and spoke about growing collaboration between American and Indian companies and entrepreneurs. 

She cited the TRUST Initiative and cooperation through the Quad grouping as examples of that partnership, and said she expected further lines of US-India tech collaboration to develop going forward. 

India and Japan among key social media targets 

Rogers said she has directed much of her online outreach towards countries where Twitter, now called X, plays a major role in public discussions.

“I’ve also tweeted a lot of content about Japan and some about India,” Rogers said.

She pointed out that Japan and India, along with Western Europe, are among the places “where Twitter is most popular.”

However, she also made it clear that social media is only a small part of the US’ wider public diplomacy efforts. She described it as a “tiny, tiny segment” of the overall work.

USAGM plans to move beyond radio and TV 

If confirmed to lead USAGM, Rogers said she wants the agency to reduce its dependence on traditional radio and television and use newer formats to reach audiences. 

That could include short-form videos, podcasts and group chats aimed at diaspora communities. At the same time, she said traditional broadcasting would continue in places where radio and television still work well. 

USAGM oversees several US-funded international broadcasters, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. 

Rogers said Asia would be a major focus, but the agency would also pay close attention to the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and Cuba. She pointed to limited access to independent information in these regions as one of the main reasons for focusing on them. 

Rogers also told the committee what she would focus on first if the Senate confirms her as the head of USAGM. The immediate task would be to stabilise the agency and strengthen its leadership. She also wants to modernise its operations and rebuild its research capacity. 

The aim, she said, would be to make sure USAGM can properly measure how many people its content reaches and how many are actually watching or listening. 

Information becoming part of US-China rivalry 

The comments come as the competition between the US and China is moving beyond trade, technology and defence.

Information and online platforms have also become an important part of that rivalry. Washington is increasingly looking at platforms such as Twitter as tools for reaching audiences in countries where they have a strong influence.

For the US, the wider goal is to make sure its message reaches people directly, especially in countries where competing information campaigns are becoming stronger.