The Washington Post is coming under fire for publishing Chinese propaganda last week, just one day after the launch of another intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea. The insert in question has long been controversial, yet many people remain unaware that it is bought and paid for by the corrupt Chinese government.
As noted by Ethan Barton of the Daily Caller, the paper’s “China Watch” section failed to mention the launch, which is consistent with its strategy of ignoring big Chinese news stories that paint the country in a negative light and focusing only on positive news. It’s a huge omission as the ICBM that North Korea is claiming it tested has a range believed to be more than 8,100 miles and the ability to strike anywhere in the United States.
Just one article in the insert mentioned China’s stance regarding North Korea, but it only said that Beijing was trying to pressure Pyongyang.
The insert, which is widely considered Chinese communist propaganda and appears regularly in the Post, is prepared by the Chinese government and is labeled an advertising supplement in small print. The Russian government, by the way, also has a similar arrangement with the paper in the form of Russia Beyond the Headlines. These two supplements have also appeared in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
China Watch is known for choosing stories that advance the communist party line. In the past, it has published stories saying that the country’s one child policy was beneficial to the people, helping them to come out of poverty and preserve the environment – which is pretty laughable when you consider how widespread pollution is in China.
"Advertising supplement" can be hard to tell apart from legitimate news
Representatives from the paper refused to tell the Daily Caller News Foundation how much money the Chinese government is paying the Washington Post to publish its propaganda, and they reiterated that it’s an advertising supplement. One page carries the notice: “This supplement, prepared by China Daily, People’s Republic of China, did not involve the news or editorial departments of The Washington Post,” but it’s pretty easy to miss.
It is also worth noting that the Washington Post hosts a China Watch website that is not clearly identified as being an advertising supplement, nor does it state anywhere that it is paid for by the communist Chinese government. Even the URLs of the news articles, which start with "//chinawatch.washingtonpost.com/" make them seem like part of the actual paper.
Those who are not aware of the situation can mistake it for actual news from the Washington Post fairly easily. That’s because they do their best to make it indistinguishable, using formal headlines and bylines and the logo of the Washington Post at the top of the page.
It’s funny how liberal media like the Washington Post, who will be the first to accuse others of “fake news” for publishing anything that they do not agree with, will gladly post this type of propaganda making it seem like it’s all rainbows and butterflies in China even as North Korea launches its most powerful ICBM as long as they can collect a paycheck for doing so.
While it’s hard to fault newspapers for offering up ads – after all, that’s how they make money – this goes far beyond that. There is no reason that American newspapers should be spreading Chinese propaganda, especially when they do their best to make it hard to tell it apart from the actual news the paper and its website publish. It's yet another reason we should take everything printed in the mainstream media with a grain of salt.
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