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Browse resources on authoritarian sharp power and its effects on the integrity of institutions and globalized spaces.
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Source: New York Times
Publication Date: April 23, 2023
Chinese Censorship is Quietly Rewriting the Covid-19 Story
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
Author: Mara Kvistendahl, Benjamin Mueller
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.
Source: International Federation of Journalists
Publication Date: April 30, 2021
The COVID-19 Story: Unmasking China’s Global Strategy
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
Author: Louisa Lim, Julia Bergin, Johan Lidberg
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.
Publication Date: June 13, 2020
COVID-19 and China’s Changing Propaganda Tactics in Slovakia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Slovakia
Author: Matej Šimalčík
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.
Source: Australian National University Department of Pacific Affairs
Publication Date: October 9, 2020
China’s COVID-19 Diplomacy in the Pacific
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific
Author: Denghua Zhang
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.
Source: New York Times
Publication Date: April 24, 2020
Pressured by China, E.U. Softens Report on Covid-19 Disinformation
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe
Author: Matt Apuzzo
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.
Publication Date: May 26, 2021
Superspreaders of Malign and Subversive Information on COVID-19
Authoritarian Country: China, Russia
Affected Region: North America, United States
Author: Miriam Matthews, Katya Migacheva, Ryan Brown
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.
Source: Associated Press
Publication Date: February 15, 2021
Anatomy of a Conspiracy: With COVID, China Took Leading Role
Authoritarian Country: China, Iran, Russia
Affected Region: Global
Author: Erika Kinetz
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.
Publication Date: December 8, 2022
Chinese Students in UK Told to ‘Resist Distorting’ China’s Covid Policies
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, United Kingdom
Author: Daniel Boffey
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.
Publication Date: February 24, 2021
For Covid-19 Vaccines, Latin America Turns to China and Russia
Authoritarian Country: China, Russia
Affected Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Ryan Dube, Luciana Magalhães
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.
Source: Foreign Policy
Publication Date: June 16, 2020
China’s Health Silk Road Is a Dead-End Street
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
Author: Kristin Lee, Martijn Rasser
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.
Source: La República
Publication Date: February 27, 2020
China alentó vacunación vip a funcionarios para sacar ventaja a competidores
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Latin America and the Caribbean, Peru
Author: Angel Paez
En un momento en el que el Gobierno peruano buscaba una vacuna contra el COVID-19, y se presentaron varias ofertas, Sinopharm ofreció al Gobierno peruano la cantidad de dosis que deseara para inocular al equipo de ensayo, margen que luego se amplió a los funcionarios de primer nivel del Ejecutivo.
Publication Date: April 16, 2021
Beijing Tightens Grip Over Coronavirus Research, Amid US-China Row on Virus Origin
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, China
Author: Nectar Gan, Caitlin Hu, Ivan Watson
Under a policy implemented by Beijing, all academic papers on COVID-19 were subject to extra vetting before being submitted for publication and studies on the origin of the virus required approval from government officials. A Chinese researcher said the move would obstruct important scientific research.
Publication Date: November 9, 2020
How Australia is Sleepwalking into a Trade Disaster with China
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Australia
Author: John McCarthy
Economic reliance on China left Australia vulnerable to Chinese economic policy manipulation. In practice, Beijing used trade and other non-economic measures to punish the Australian government for decisions like banning Huawei from the 5G rollout and calling for an inquiry into COVID-19.
Source: ABC
Publication Date: September 14, 2020
UTS Recommended Staff Censor for Chinese Students, Newmarch Resident Records False Positive
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Australia
A University of Technology Sydney working group recommended that professors censor their courses to avoid topics that might offend Beijing, in an effort to retain Chinese international student enrollment during the economic turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Publication Date: June 23, 2020
The World Is Awakening to China’s Sharp Power
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
Author: Simon Shen
Beijing’s global propaganda campaign to control narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how widespread its infiltration of Western media outlets had become. To complement its media efforts, the CCP also pulled the strings of state-owned and nominally private enterprises often run by CCP members.