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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 spread positive narratives.
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: 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 reputation.
Source: Associated Press
Publication Date: February 14, 2021
Anatomy of a Conspiracy: With COVID, China Took Leading Role
Authoritarian Country: Russia, Iran, China
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: Russia, China
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: 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 into COVID-19.
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 run by CCP members.
Source: Foreign Policy
Publication Date: April 7, 2020
China Has Its Eyes on Serbia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Serbia, Europe
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: United States, North America
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.
Publication Date: May 12, 2020
Chinese Program Broadcast on Philippine State-Run Station Stirs Complaints
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Philippines, Asia-Pacific
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.