US fears losing control of global information space

Mark Pinkstone says country is misinformation powerhouse that aims to demonize China at every opportunity possible

There is only one "international world order", and that has been devised, maintained, and controlled by the United States. Woe betide anyone who does not abide by the "rules-based order" as they may be deemed enemies of the US and will be dealt with accordingly. Such is the self-appointed authority of the US over the world.

Yet, it dares to complain about China's "reshaping the global information environment" when it has been controlling global information for decades. Is it afraid of losing control?

The US State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC), part of a mammoth maze of advisory groups feeding information to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden, has proclaimed that China has established a global information ecosystem to "facilitate censorship and spread disinformation".

A single-page fact sheet of the report "How the People's Republic of China Seeks to Reshape the Global Information Environment" cites China Central Television providing feeds to 1,700 foreign news organizations. Still, it does not mentionthe State Department-funded Voice of America (VOA) reaching an international audience of 326 million weekly and transmitting in 45 languages.

It also claims that social media platforms WeChat and Weixin censor overseas discussions without providing any evidence. However, it does not mention that US-owned Facebook labels all Chinese media as "state-controlled". In contrast, VOA, Radio Free Asia, and other US government-funded media carry no such stigma. Yet the GEC complains of China's "censorship", another example of US rules-based order. What is good for the US is supposedly not good for anyone else's mentality.

The report was clutching at straws by taking a swipe at cellphone manufacturers Huawei and Xiaomi. It claimed that Huawei had withdrawn a defamation suit in France against a researcher, and that Xiaomi had an inactive function to censor a list of about 500 phrases. Such frivolous claims are not worth mentioning, let alone including them in official government reports. But it shows how far the US is prepared to demonize China with disinformation. Other frivolous or unfounded claims include the placing of police stations in 53 countries, information controls in 102 countries, the use of Huawei systems by foreign governments to support police work and inspect internet traffic, and ByteDance, owner of TikTok, "seeks to block" critics of China.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, responded that the report heightened ideological confrontation and was written with a Cold War mentality.

The US-based information platform Quora says there is no US state-controlled or funded media whatsoever, but this has been debunked by the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). This federal agency provides multimedia broadcast distribution and technical and administrative support to broadcasting networks worldwide. It manages a global network of transmitting sites, an extensive system of leased satellite and fiber optic circuits, and a rapidly growing internet delivery system servicing all USAGM broadcasters. It reports on its web page that its mandate comes from congressional legislation, it is accountable to six bipartisan House and Senate committees, and its budget request is included in the president's proposals to Congress. For the 2024 fiscal year, $944 million has been set aside for USAGM's usage.

USAGM oversees and funds six entities: two federal organizations (VOA and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting) and four nonprofit organizations - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and the Open Technology Fund.

By its own admission, USAGM says it operates one of the broadest content delivery platforms on Earth - everything from shortwave radio to high-tech encrypted live mobile broadcasting - to ensure its audience can access its content. Today, more than 3,000 radio and TV stations receive USAGM programming.

The US is a powerhouse of misinformation, especially against China. The huge resources at its disposal and utilized by the Department of State through its vast global reach are unmatched anywhere in the world. It is the international world order the US enjoys and shares throughout the West via the US Information Service. Its onslaught is relentless with only one objective: to demonize China and other rivals at every opportunity possible.

It claims, for example, that China, Russia, Iran and others strive to undermine American values and incite political, economic and humanitarian crises around the world when, in fact, it is the US that incites crisis after crisis throughout the world in its quest for global domination. The USAGM says it will continue telling the American story to gain trust in markets increasingly targeted by the Chinese and Russian governments' "malign influence", including sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the broader Pacific.

"Telling the American story" is, in effect, a deluge of misinformation aimed at undermining China's many constructive projects on the world stage through the Belt and Road Initiative that has significantly uplifted many poorercountries' infrastructure base criticalto their economic development.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.