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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: 2) by canopic jug on Tuesday July 09 2019, @02:16PM
That's not necessarily a new activity. Take a look at the old Jackie Chan movies before he started filming in the, and other Chinese films from that era, and you'll see similar treatment of Westerners. It has been going on for a long time even if it is now ramping up.
However, that attitude is not necessarily intended entirely for domestic consumption. China has been moving into all parts of Africa via their investments. One tactic is saddling the various countries with debt so as to make them beholden to CCP policies until such time as they default and China can take ownership of the assets which were borrowed against. Another tactic is to tie content requirements to telecoms investments. So in some countries, they are seeing more Chinese movies than local ones [dw.com] and it may be those new markets which are the intended audience for these on-screen prejudices.
China is building out rapidly in Africa and they get the benefit of the founder effect in many areas of technology. Poisoning the well against the "West" appears to be a consistent subtheme.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.