2015-11-02

China Fails at Media Manipulation, Other Foreigners Do It Better

Reuters: Beijing’s covert radio network airs China-friendly news across Washington, and the world
Located outside Washington, D.C., WCRW radio made no mention of China’s provocative island project. Instead, an analyst explained that tensions in the region were due to unnamed “external forces” trying “to insert themselves into this part of the world using false claims.”

Behind WCRW’s coverage is a fact that’s never broadcast: The Chinese government controls much of what airs on the station, which can be heard on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

WCRW is just one of a growing number of stations across the world through which Beijing is broadcasting China-friendly news and programming.

A Reuters investigation spanning four continents has identified at least 33 radio stations in 14 countries that are part of a global radio web structured in a way that obscures its majority shareholder: state-run China Radio International, or CRI.
CRI doesn't need to have direct ownership to put out propaganda messages. They're dumb if they've designed the system this way because it is trivial to find sympathetic voices in multicultural America.
A U.S. law enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prohibits foreign governments or their representatives from holding a radio license for a U.S. broadcast station. Under the Communications Act, foreign individuals, governments and corporations are permitted to hold up to 20 percent ownership directly in a station and up to 25 percent in the U.S. parent corporation of a station.
Carlos Slim got the NYTimes to run favorable articles on illegal immigration and avoid criticizing his monopoly businesses that profit from the current state of affairs. It's really amazing if China is so dumb that they could not get a billionaire to invest a few million dollars in order to shift editorial content at American media outlets.

This story speaks to China's need to control things at the top. Other governments are influencing U.S. policy everyday, the U.S. media market is filled with shills pushing various agendas. The only thing you have to do to avoid getting in trouble is don't have direct ownership, which it seems CRI may have failed at.

Aside from a possible bone head approach (it remains to be seen if they are violating the law), the focus on China is likely a result of increasing negative sentiment directed at China. Tensions are going to ratchet up, up, up.

Meanwhile, this also exposes the problem of globalization and mass migration: the U.S. really has no way to stop foreigners from influencing public policy as long as they aren't doing it openly.

Reuters: In America, weak limits on the voices of foreign governments
The Justice Department, meanwhile, regulates agents of foreign governments or foreign groups engaging in political activity – defined as people or entities seeking to influence U.S. policy or public opinion. They are required to register with the department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. These people must publicly disclose financial arrangements with foreign governments and affix warning labels to any promotional material distributed inside the United States.
There are lots of foreigners working at media outlets pushing the Narratives of foreign governments. Many of the people pushing for amnesty of illegal aliens would fall afoul of this law if it was enforced. Technically, any illegal alien speaking on politics would fall afoul of this law.

We are in the age of fourth generation war. The important actors in the world are increasingly non-government entities. Is it really horrible that the Chinese government tries to stop America from intervening in the South China Sea with some radio broadcasts, but Carlos Slim tries to get amnesty passed with millions invested in the NYTimes? I'm not going to get worked up over foreign influence that is quite visible, versus all the foreign and domestic Narrative formation that actually succeeds. China didn't do anything crazy like burn down cities with its propaganda.

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