The People’s Republic of China (PRC) recently rejected a report by the US State Department alleging that the PRC is promoting the global spread of disinformation. A representative from the PRC’s Foreign Ministry criticized the report as another piece of disinformation, claiming it distorted the facts.
The representative argued that the US has, in fact, been instrumental in weaponizing global information. As proof, they cited propaganda disseminated by the US during the Cold War, as well as faulty “evidence” used to justify military action in Iraq and Syria. Additionally, they accused the US of spreading a “massive lie” about China’s policy towards Xinjiang and the alleged Uyghur genocide. According to the representative, the US has been fabricating enough lies to “blind” the world and then wrongly attributing the label of disinformation to others.
The State Department’s report, released on Thursday, accuses the PRC of resorting to varying deceptive practices to reshape international perception of the Chinese state. One key allegation points towards the PRC acquiring stakes in foreign media channels to promote positive messaging about the Chinese state and suppress dissenting views.
The report also accuses China of practicing “digital authoritarianism”, alleging that the PRC censors online critics and clamps down on suspected online disinformation, at times even urging citizens to report any perceived lies about the country. In one notable instance, the US-owned social media platform TikTok was accused of aiding Beijing’s censorship agenda by blocking critics.
Furthermore, the report warns of the potential impacts of China’s speculated disinformation campaign. It posits that as PRC’s international influence increases, it may hinder other nations’ ability to confront or censure China due to the fear of reprisals in areas like economy or technology. Nevertheless, the US maintains that such a predicament could be mitigated if international relationships with the PRC are built on factual assessments of sovereign interests.
The full report can be found here.