The Chinese Communist Party‘s official media, China Daily, has placed advertisements bearing the name China Watch in U.S. media outlets for more than a decade to promote the policies of the Chinese Communist government.
According to a new report released this year by the National Endowment for Democracy – “The Global Footprint of the CCP Media: Democracy’s Response to Expanding Authoritarian Influence” – the CCP is working to infiltrate and manipulate the media in countries around the world through various means. The report warns that this expanding global influence of the Chinese Communist Party poses a serious threat and calls on Western countries to push back forcefully.
Between the conventions of diplomatic maneuvering and coercive activities, there is a gray area that the report calls “sharp power,” which exploits the openness of Western societies to manipulate foreign media. The report details how the Communist Party has been “using propaganda, disinformation, censorship, and influence at key points in the information flow.
Over the past decade, the report says, Beijing‘s ability to shape how countries report on the CCP has increased so dramatically that hundreds of millions of news consumers around the world often watch, read, or listen to information produced by or manipulated by the CCP without knowing its source.
The report notes that the CCP’s tactics are increasingly covert and combined with public diplomacy and corruption, and that existing weaknesses in the West have contributed to Beijing’s ability to expand its media influence globally.
For example, local media outlets have difficulty resisting offers of partnerships or advertising deals from CCP state-owned enterprises due to a lack of funding, while local officials, think tanks and civil society often lack a deep understanding of the CCP.
The growing use of Chinese apps such as WeChat by overseas Chinese, as well as increasing political polarization and anti-Western sentiment in some countries, have also been exploited by the CCP.
In addition, Beijing sponsors thousands of trips by foreign journalists, and during such trips, journalists are often heavily monitored and allowed to see issues only through the lens the CCP wants them to see.
At the same Time, the CCP has also manipulated key parts of the information infrastructure of some countries through the propagation of disinformation on social media, as well as the manipulation of search results on global online platforms and the acquisition of overseas content distribution platforms and local media.
According to a survey released last June by the International Federation of Journalists, two-thirds of its members believe the CCP is establishing a “visible presence” in their national media; and journalism unions from at least eight countries said they have signed agreements with CCP entities, including content-sharing agreements, journalist exchange programs or participation in Communist government activities.
The report notes that hundreds of incidents around the world over the past decade show that once the CCP (or a company, media outlet or owner with close ties to the party) gains a foothold within information distribution channels, manipulation inevitably follows. In particular, the protests in Hong Kong and the persecution of Uighurs in Xinjiang have sparked strong international criticism of the CCP government, for which journalists, news consumers and advertisers in countries such as Sweden, Russia, South Africa, the United States and Australia have been intimidated or censored for unwelcome CCP political content.
Sarah Cook, author of the report and senior researcher for the human rights organization Freedom House, noted that official Communist Party media, government officials and affiliates are exerting increasing influence at key points in the global information flow, and that “these activities undermine democratic norms, compromise national sovereignty, and weaken the ability of the Communist Party to influence the global information flow. undermine national sovereignty, weaken the financial sustainability of independent media, and violate the laws of some countries.” And, “No country is immune, including poor countries with weak institutions as well as large, wealthy democracies.”
Cook called for a tough Western response as the Communist regime adopts a “society-wide, authoritarian approach to control.”
She made a number of recommendations, including increased scrutiny of pre-election media coverage and Chinese language media; a review of censorship and security clearance of Chinese apps; confirmation of media ownership and financial ties to the Communist Party, and a major effort by press freedom watchdogs to warn the public and lawmakers against Communist influence.
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