China’s propaganda-video makers have one message for you: The West is the root of all of China’s troubles.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been working full speed the past few months to produce videos blaming “foreign hostile forces,” especially the US, for everything from inciting separatism to stealing territory in the South China Sea. Last week, as the high-profile trials of four Chinese human rights lawyers got underway, the video makers were in overdrive as they churned out at least six propaganda videos to counter criticism of its crackdown on civil society.
The videos usually surface on the social media platform Weibo and go viral after being promoted by state organs like the Communist Youth League. And they appear to be working.
“The US is the world’s biggest terrorist group… They never allow any government to have different standpoints from them,” one Weibo user commented under a video (link in Chinese) that warned of a US conspiracy to incite a pro-democracry “color revolution” in China. The writer added, “I love China! I love my country!” The comment earned more than 3,000 likes.
Here’s a guide to some of China’s recent anti-Western propaganda videos.
They didn’t come here for Tianjin’s famous buns
This four-minute video, with footage apparently from Chinese security police, was posted by the Chinese Communist Youth League’s official Weibo account on Aug. 4. It shows scenes outside a courtroom in the northern city of Tianjin, where the trials of four prominent human rights lawyers were taking place, and accuses foreign diplomats of organizing the lawyers’ family members to protest outside the courthouse on Aug. 1, one day ahead of the trial.
“Were they looking for business opportunities? Did they come to take in the beautiful scenery? To try some of the fried dough twists on 18th street? Or some of Tianjin’s famous Goubuli meat buns? None of the above. They came here provoking trouble!” says the video, according to a translation posted by US-based advocacy group China Change.
It also questions foreign journalists’ professionalism. One shot shows a closeup of the press card of an AP reporter, calling him out as an example of bad journalism. Elsewhere it suggests the wife of one of the imprisoned lawyers collapsing to the ground was staged, saying she fell “expertly” to pose for pictures.
Continued at: http://qz.com/751338/the-complete-guide-to-chinas-propaganda-videos-blaming-the-west-for-almost-everything/
Filed under: China, CounterPropaganda, Information operations, Information Warfare, Propaganda Tagged: China, CounterPropaganda, information warfare, propaganda
