Opinion | The BBC's Audacious Propaganda Campaign Against China
By Tom Fowdy
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), is the most famous and established broadcaster in the world. Its induction in the early 20th century has taken the world into a new era of media and reporting, which has on face value made it a household name in many countries. The organization itself makes no secret about this, constantly describing itself "as the world's most trusted broadcaster" and frequently claiming that its news is always both accurate and impartial. But of course, this is purely branding so to speak, not factual reality.
The BBC has long rode on its established reputation to engage in a subtle modus operand of deception and often push deliberate agenda-driven content, especially when it comes to foreign affairs-related matters. Its seemingly cheerful and respected name paints over a long history of engaging in propaganda operations on behalf of the British Foreign Office, a tradition which consolidated in World War II, continued throughout the Cold War and to the present day. It now has a new target: China, of which it is continually, purposefully and aggressively amplifying negative information concerning with the goal of turning international public opinion against it.
The primary tactic of the BBC is to engage in selective propaganda by omission, that is "white propaganda"- as opposed to "black propaganda"- the latter of which involves completely making falsehoods up from scratch. The former tactic instead is more subtle, white or grey propaganda aims to cherry-pick aspects of information which suits one's agenda, downplaying or omitting facts to the contrary, and amplifying them. It is a selective bias, which is economical with facts in order to present a certain picture of events, or slips in certain statements or assumptions which shift the narrative. Anti-China stories for one are frequently posted on the BBC's international front page.
Diving into specific content, the BBC recently reported on China's lockdown in Xi'an. Following a longstanding policy of refusing to give China's covid policies any recognition, which is a broader item of political correctness across the media as a whole, the broadcaster proceeded to accuse China of inflicting "starvation and death" in the city. Whilst there were some local complaints regarding officials handling of the situation, the content of the story is misleading because it cherry-picks isolated incidents and uses them to amplify opposition to the lockdown policy as a whole and to brand it inhumane, despite the massive differences in death tolls and public wellbeing compared to China and the west, of which is not mentioned.
Another example of this kind of reporting involves the BBC's choice of "experts" and "quotations" on topics related to China. The broadcaster repeatedly quotes people who have clear partiality problems as mainstream, reliable sources, such as for example as the repeated citation of German Anti-China scholar Adrian Zenz as a "leading expert" on Xinjiang, failing to inform the public of his extremist evangelical background or the questionable partiality of the "Victims of Communism" organization he represents. Recently, the BBC also quoted the chief of Britain's intelligence service MI6 in an article titled: "Is China trapping poor countries in debt?"- who predictably pushed the narrative. When one scholar last year, Deborah Brautigam, debunked the phenomenon on an interview, the BBC cut the interview to make it look like she had in fact said the opposite, drawing her public complaint.
When confronted with criticism, the BBC's tactic is to simply deny it has any legitimacy and frame it as a state-led plot by the Chinese state to discredit them. This mentality also reveals the BBC's elitist culture, of which has provoked growing public opposition to it in the United Kingdom. The BBC sincerely believes it is an enlightened and elitist institution which has a monopoly over what constitutes "truth", and upon that premise believes it has a mission to preach its value sentiments to others, of which further contributes to bias and intentionally agenda-driven reporting. It is no surprise that on matters related to China, particularly Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang and more, the BBC believes its end goals are more important than impartial, balanced and fair reporting.
To put it bluntly: The BBC is waging a public opinion war against China, yet it is so subtle and so hidden behind its own brand name that most people are not even aware it is happening. Whilst one may be skeptical of the agenda of newspaper tabloids, the BBC's agenda is more deadly because it is hidden behind the mask of a broadcaster that pretends it is something not. People must develop a broader understanding of how the notion of a "righteous democratic west" and comfort in one's own sense of superiority makes them susceptible to this kind of deception and question the things appearing in the news more thoroughly.
The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
READ MORE ARTICLES BY TOM FOWDY:
Comment