The campaign involves not just promoting pro-Beijing information, but discouraging negative reports. Censorship extends into social media, and is strengthened by Chinese platforms' suppression of content that authorities deem negative. For example, some U.S. citizens have recently had messages or entire accounts censored on the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat, owned by the firm Tencent.
"It's quite shocking to me that China's Great Firewall is coming to the U.S. in digital form," says George Shen, a technology consultant from Newton, Mass., who had his WeChat accounts banned last month. "It's a very stealthy, sophisticated censorship. ... They are filtering out your messages without even telling you," he says.
Bankrolled with billions of dollars of government funds, the strategy goes beyond establishing Chinese media entities abroad, to leasing or purchasing foreign news outlets and hiring foreign reporters. This tactic, known as "borrowing a boat to go out on the ocean" – or buying a boat, as the case may be – is aimed at offering a cloak of credibility.
Even as China expands its channels to American audiences, it is increasing restrictions on U.S. media in China. Last month, Chinese authorities blocked several more U.S. media outlets from the internet in China, including the websites of The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, and NBC News.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ikanreed on Monday July 08 2019, @07:47PM (3 children)
Come on, the US is a much bigger threat to "western values".
I've been to China just a couple weeks ago, the only substantive difference is, as a white guy, I was the one "randomly" stopped by police and asked for ID.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @09:38PM
走路時白色。
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 09 2019, @06:06AM (1 child)
How come you don't care they wanted ID because of your race, but ICE can't enforce our laws?
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday July 09 2019, @05:11PM
Of course I care about it. If it were my country I'd be profoundly pissed at the injustice.
But it's not my country, and my country is just as fucking bad, if not fucking worse, about it. And it's shitty right wingers want me to care about china more. Because they're responsible for the fucking evil and incapable of answering for their crimes.