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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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Publication Date: June 12, 2020
COVID-19 and China’s Changing Propaganda Tactics in Slovakia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Slovakia, Europe
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: International Federation of Journalists
Publication Date: April 29, 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…
Source: Australian National University Department of Pacific Affairs
Publication Date: October 8, 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…
Source: New York Times
Publication Date: April 23, 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.
Source: RAND Corporation
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
Superspreaders of Malign and Subversive Information on COVID-19
Authoritarian Country: China, Russia
Affected Region: United States, North America
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…
Source: Associated Press
Publication Date: February 14, 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: February 23, 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…
Source: Foreign Policy
Publication Date: June 15, 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…
Publication Date: May 13, 2021
Colombia: China’s New Amigo?
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Colombia, Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: David Castrillon
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.
Publication Date: May 17, 2020
Saudi Arabia’s Disaster Capitalism Comes to Hollywood
Authoritarian Country: Saudi Arabia
Affected Region: United States, North America
Author: Karen Attiah
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.
Publication Date: April 11, 2021
How the CCP Mobilized a Cross-Border Disinformation Campaign Against the Czech Senate Speaker
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Czechia, Europe
Author: Martin Hála, Filip Jirouš, Petra Ševčíková
A new tide of disinformation in the Czech Republic coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and “economic diplomacy” was swiftly replaced with “face mask diplomacy” that aimed to paper over cracks in the Czech-China bilateral relationship.
Publication Date: February 25, 2021
Chinese Companies Buy Up UK Private Schools, Sparking Fears of CCP Influence
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: United Kingdom, Europe
Author: Jane Tang, Yitong Wu
PRC companies, some of which had ties to high-ranking CCP officials, purchased seventeen private schools in the United Kingdom. Due to the economic hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, many private schools were willing to accept investment from any source.
Source: In Queensland
Publication Date: November 8, 2020
How Australia is Sleepwalking into a Trade Disaster with China
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Australia, Asia-Pacific
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…
Source: ABC
Publication Date: September 13, 2020
UTS Recommended Staff Censor for Chinese Students, Newmarch Resident Records False Positive
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Australia, Asia-Pacific
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 22, 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…