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US warns of Chinese disinformation. China says that's disinformation | CNN (edition.cnn.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

45 comments fedilink hide all child comments

US warns of Chinese disinformation. China says that’s disinformation By Mengchen Zhang, Teele Rebane and Heather Chen, CNN Published 3:20 AM EDT, Sun October 1, 2023

A US State Department report that accuses the Chinese government of expanding disinformation efforts is “in itself disinformation,” Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed Saturday.

The ministry shot back after the State Department issued a striking report this week in which it accused the Chinese government of expanding efforts to control information and to disseminate propaganda and disinformation that promotes “digital authoritarianism” in China and around the world.

The US report, issued by the Global Engagement Center on Thursday, alleged that China spends billions of dollars a year on foreign information manipulation and warned that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had “significantly expanded” efforts to “shape the global information environment.”

It also underlined US concerns about China as a main military competitor and key rival in the battle over ideas and global disinformation.

Two days later, China hit back.

“The relevant center of the US State Department which concocted the report is engaged in propaganda and infiltration in the name of ‘global engagement’ – it is a source of disinformation and the command center of ‘perception warfare’,” the ministry said on Saturday.

Referring to wars in Iraq and Syria as well as US reports alleging human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang as examples, the ministry claimed that the US is “an ‘empire of lies’ through and through.”

“No matter how the US tries to pin the label of ‘disinformation’ on other countries, more and more people in the world have already seen through the US’s ugly attempt to perpetuate its supremacy by weaving lies into ‘emperor’s new clothes’ and smearing others,” the ministry said.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes, yes, the US has issues. No one will deny that. The US wages too much wars, works too much in the spy game, etc.

Still though, you're comparing a (sort of) democracy to a de facto dictatorship. I will chose the democracy EVERY DAY. The issues that the US faces pale on comparison to China ,so FUCK the Chinese government, and fuck xi ping Winnie Pooh.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Republic. That's the word you're looking for. We have some democracy, but we're not a democracy.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago

Spiderman pointing meme

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

They're using the neener neener defense. Smart.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

NO U!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

Uno reverse card!?

[+] [email protected] -34 points 10 months ago (2 children)

They aren't wrong.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Disinformation usually needs to be untrue to be defined as such.

[+] [email protected] -27 points 10 months ago (2 children)

America is obviously implying China is especially untrustworthy. Is that actually true?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The distinction between China and United States is the Chinese state has a monopoly on information coming out of China that the United States doesn’t have. I’m free to point out when the state department says a bunch of bullshit in the US, Chinese citizens don’t have that same right

[+] [email protected] -26 points 10 months ago (2 children)

There's no monopoly, but the US certainly can control the narrative when it wants. Maybe you weren't alive for the lies about WMDs in Iraq. Or the Gulf of Tonken incident before that.

America lies about its enemies.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I was alive for the former but not the latter. I recall mass protests occurred for both incidents. It is a shame that more people didn’t see through the bullshit until after the fact but at the same time the government paid for these lies with eroded trust which makes it that much harder for them to sell a new lie in the future.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

True. But you also found out they were lies, so...

[+] [email protected] -11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Those lies killed millions of people...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Yes, and you know about them because the US is not that great at controlling "the narrative when it wants" which is what the topic of this discussion was before you realized you were wrong and tried to steer towards the number of killed people. Learn to stay on topic.

[+] [email protected] -10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Yeah, I guess that's beside the point. It's just so horrific I got distracted.

I guess I'm just not really sure how "America gets caught when it lies" is proof that America is more trustworthy than China. Why is "yeah but you know they lied so it's fine" any kind of defense? And how does that prove China is somehow worse or less trustworthy?

[–] Honytawk 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If you are allowed to point out someones lies, they are more trustworthy than someone who you are not allowed to accuse of lying.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's because you made up these arguments. No one here said the things you're implying. Just read through the thread again. You're constantly twisting words.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They're one of the biggest countries, they probably have one of the largest information campaigns.

[+] [email protected] -18 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If it's only a matter of size then surely they should be warning about Indian misinformation as well. The Hindu supremacy campaign has reached the point where they're literally changing the name of the country, that seems kind of worrying! But no, America won't insult India with accusations of misinformation.

Just China. Odd, isn't it?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Not really no.

Do you think China is not spending billions of dollars a year on foreign information manipulation? Do you think they haven't expanded efforts to shape the global information environment?

If they have, the US's claims (in this case specifically) can't be disinformation, since they would be true.

[+] [email protected] -9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don't think China is especially untrustworthy compared to any other major country. Do you?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I think they work more with soft power and information shaping than most countries yes.

[+] [email protected] -6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

I don't. I think they probably do engage in that, but no more than any other powerful nation.

[–] Honytawk 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Which makes the statement of the US true, and the statement of China false.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Off the top of my head, only North has a more comprehensive information firewall. And the common online whataboutism not-as-bad-as-the-US then taking about criticism of China is pulled straight from their foreign relations tactics. I wouldn't be surprised if they planted those arguments in online forums to start, and now the argument is self sustaining. Plus things like the nomenclature around Tiwan and other disputed territories is intentionally confusing.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Lemmy.ml user

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Not nearly as much as hexbear though