A survey of affiliate unions of the International Federation of Journalists indicated that the PRC used the COVID-19 pandemic to boost its image in global media. The PRC expanded media manipulation tactics that they had already been employing internationally to spread positive narratives.

In addition to spreading propaganda and disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic on social media via the Chinese Embassy in Slovakia’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts, Beijing also relied on more traditional approaches—including Slovak proxies in media and politics.

Beijing has attempted to shape global discourse around the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic by exploiting the editorial process in scientific journals. Chinese researchers retracted significant and important data from international journals that indicates a pattern of censorship from the government.

Though the Kremlin and Beijing both employed information manipulation tactics to service their respective global agendas during the COVID-19 pandemic, their long-term objectives differed. Russia aimed to destabilize the U.S., while the PRC sought to protect and enhance its own reputation.

Beijing undertook multiple COVID-19 diplomacy activities in the Pacific to project a positive image about its pandemic response: foreign aid in the form of grants and donated medical supplies, shared information between Chinese and foreign health officials, and leveraging mainstream media to publicize the PRC’s support for foreign countries.

As European Union officials planned to document in a formal report how Beijing and Moscow promoted disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, the PRC pressured officials to revise certain language.

Beijing leaned on a Russian disinformation strategy and turned to a network of Kremlin proxies to spread false or misleading messages that offset international criticism about its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese students studying in Manchester, UK reported threatening comments made by the Chinese consul general in response to their protests against China’s Zero Covid policies. The Chinese government is taking steps to intimidate international students and influence their behavior.

As countries across Latin America began vaccinating their citizens with Sputnik V, CoronaVac, and Sinopharm’s vaccine, China and Russia were poised to boost their standing in a region where Beijing wanted access to oil, copper, and soybeans and Moscow sought to build stronger diplomatic and economic ties.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for the Chinese Communist Party to tout the superiority of its governance model by leveraging emerging technologies, like 5G networks that connected front-line health care workers and patients to medical experts in Beijing’s remote consultation platforms.

Beijing targeted Italy as part of an effort to shape the narrative about China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Media cooperation agreements established between the two countries prior to the pandemic laid the groundwork for Beijing’s propaganda campaign.

Beijing’s main strategic goals in the Czech Republic have been to weaken political support for Taiwan and to improve China’s image in the country, for example by fighting narratives depicting it as a human rights violator and as the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing engaged in a media and diplomacy campaign to promote its narrative regarding China’s handling of the pandemic. China’s donations and outreach efforts were directed at the developing world in the hopes of gaining wider support for its policies internationally.

Increased China-Colombia cooperation was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic as an exchange of video messages between Colombian President Iván Duque and PRC Chairman Xi Jinping stressed the power of friendly cooperation in the face of common challenges.

Saudi funding presented American entertainment companies with a remedy to the financial hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also posed threats to freedom of expression.