When President Donald Trump called U.S. media outlets “fake news,” everyday Americans could not imagine the depths of their deceit. The conventional wisdom was the establishment media was merely comprised of liberal zealots willing to spread false and misleading information. But recent reports indicate that outlets such as The Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal, among others took millions funneled from China’s Communist Party.
The communist regime has leveraged its state-run media company, China Daily, to infiltrate high-circulation American newspapers with a supplement that skirts the rules on propaganda. Called “China Watch,” the supplement disseminates false and misleading, pro-China advocacy. Since the run-up to the 2016 elections, China Daily has reportedly doled out $4.6 million to the anti-Trump Washington Post, and $6 million to gain allegiance from the Wall Street Journal, a leading financial outlet. China Daily is owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party Publicity Department tasked with using propaganda to mask wrongdoing, such as hiding the truth about the spread of the coronavirus.
It was evident that the communists were taking advantage of U.S. laws about “advertising” by labeling the supplement in a way that scholars reportedly state, “it’s hard to tell that China Watch’s material is an ad.”
Washington Post vice president of communications Kristine Coratti Kelly has gone on the record defending taking millions from the Communists, saying China Watch “was clearly labeled advertising.” If that were true, then why has she walked back the fake news outlet’s position by now saying China Watch “is no longer running in The Post — the last advertising insert ran last year.”
Adding insult to the decision by major fake news outlets agreeing to run Communist propaganda cloaked under the pretense it was advertising, China Daily was forced to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as far back as 1983. China Daily lobbied as a foreign agent via the China Watch package with these and other outlets to the tune of $11 million. All told, China’s Communist Party has invested $6.6 billion into China Daily’s efforts to spread false propaganda in English language sources.
U.S. lawmakers have been outraged to discover that establishment media outlets are engaged in treachery. Led by Republicans Tom Cotton and Jim Banks, 35 senators signed on to a letter requesting the U.S. Department of Justice take proactive measures to end China’s attempts to brainwash Americans.
“If there’s one lesson from the Cold War, it’s that our victory was only possible because we convinced the world that democracy was superior to communist authoritarianism. Well, it looks like we have to fight that battle again — this time against a far wealthier and equally determined adversary,” the letter states. “The federal government must use every weapon in its arsenal to ensure the triumph of our values — the consequences of failure are unspeakable.”
The letter also outlines that China Daily has strategically inserted articles into liberal-leaning media outlets with headlines that include “Law-Based Campaign Transforms Xinjiang,” and “Education Flaws Linked to Hong Kong Unrest,” among others.
“Such articles serve as a cover for China’s atrocities, including its crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region and its support for the crackdown in Hong Kong,” the senators’ letter reportedly states.
It’s disgraceful to push fake news narratives to undermine the Trump Administration and conservative values. But selling out your country to China’s Communist Party is treasonous.
