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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 22, 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 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 spread positive narratives.
Source: Medium
Publication Date: June 12, 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: 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: 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: 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 media to publicize the PRC’s support for foreign countries.
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.
Source: The Guardian
Publication Date: December 7, 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.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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 to build stronger diplomatic and economic ties.
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 consultation platforms.
Source: Foreign Policy
Publication Date: April 7, 2020
China Has Its Eyes on Serbia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Serbia
Author: Vuk Vuksanovic
China’s COVID-19 aid to Serbia, received by Serbian President Alexsandar Vucic with much fanfare, fit into the CCP’s broader ambitions to promote itself as a major power offering novel solutions to regional challenges, in this case at the expense of the European Union and democratic values.
Source: Variety
Publication Date: June 11, 2020
China Claims To Be Victim, Wants Twitter To Delete Attackers
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
Author: Patrick Frater
Beijing claimed to be a target of disinformation campaigns on Twitter and called on the social media platform to remove accounts that attacked the PRC’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PRC had some previous success in pushing back against Western tech firms as it sought to promote its own worldview.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Publication Date: May 26, 2020
Will China’s Entry into U.S. Publishing Lead to Censorship?
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: North America, United States
Author: Ed Nawotka
Beijing deleted Chinese novelist Fang Fang’s blog posts describing conditions in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, and canceled her Chinese book publication. Fang and her translator were also subjected to online threats and harassment.
Source: BenarNews
Publication Date: May 12, 2020
Chinese Program Broadcast on Philippine State-Run Station Stirs Complaints
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Philippines
Author: Jojo Rinoza and Jeoffrey Maitem
Critics slammed the Philippine government for allowing what they called Chinese propaganda to air on a state-run radio station. An episode of Wow China, a collaboration between the Philippine Broadcasting Service and China Radio Interrnational, showcased China’s COVID-19 assistance efforts.
Source: New York Times
Publication Date: April 12, 2020
Putin’s Long War Against American Science
Authoritarian Country: Russia
Affected Region: Global
Author: William J. Broad
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, it was accompanied by a dangerous surge of false information—an “infodemic.” Russian Leader Vladimir Putin played a key role in the spread of false information as part of a wider effort to discredit the West and promote his own agenda.