- CNN published sponsored content by Xinhua News Agency – a Chinese state-run newspaper – promoting the Beijing Olympic Games
- The Winter Games been subject of widespread criticism by several countries – including the US – boycotted the games by refusing to send representatives
- The country is accused of mass genocide and sterilization of the Uyghur people, however, it has denied any wrongdoing, but won’t let the UN into the region
- It has also faced criticism for harsh covid protocols that have left athletes in unbearable quarantine conditions
- In addition, the US and other countries have advised journalists and athletes to use burner phones during the Games to avoid cyber security threats
- This isn’t the first time CNN has been accused of promoting Chinese propaganda
- Last year, CNN published that China had administered its billionth COVID-19 shot and used Chinese data
- It was also accused of glorifying communism when it published an article celebrating the 100th year of the Chinese Communist Party
CNN is facing pressure to reveal how much is was paid to run sponsored content from a Chinese state-run newspaper on its website promoting the Winter Games in Beijing.
The content supplied by Xinhua News Agency – a newspaper founded and run by government agency State Council of the People’s Republic of China – promotes the Beijing Olympics as a ‘winter sporting event like no other.’
In an upbeat article, it focuses on the dazzling effects of the Games – which runs from February 4 to 20 – from ‘green construction’ to the extensive ‘safety protocols.’
Remarkably absent is any mention of the current criticism surrounding the Winter Games – including the human rights issues with the Uyghur, athletes and journalists being warned to used burner phones to protect themselves from censorship and hacking, as well as extreme COVID-19 measures causing athletes to slam the unbearable quarantine hotels.
A recent analysis of YouTube search results found that users looking for videos relating to the Genocide Games are being bombarded with Chinese propaganda videos.
Wired reports that fans who attempted to watch the Beijing Winter Olympics on Google-owned YouTube are being shown Chinese propaganda videos. According to an analysis of YouTube search results by Wired, users who searched for “Beijing,” “Beijing 2022,” “Olympics,” or “Olympics 2022” are being shown pro-China propaganda videos within the first few results.
The propaganda videos were first noticed earlier this month by John Scott-Railton, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s research laboratory, Citizen Lab. Scott-Railton found that after watching skating and curling videos he was automatically served a video by a pro-China account on YouTube. “I found myself on a slippery slide from skating and curling into increasingly targeted propaganda,” he said.
YouTube spokesperson Farshad Shadloo said that the “vast majority of videos” appearing in search results were posted by “trusted sources” like NBC Sports.
The second most popular video that appears when searching the term “Beijing” is called “What the Chinese Think of the US Boycott of Beijing Olympics and Uyghur Issues” and was posted by an influencer named “Asian Boss.” The video claims to interview “ordinary Chinese citizens” in Shanghai, asking them their opinion on the U.S. decision to ban government officials from appearing at the Beijing Olympics.