OPINION | Propaganda Without Borders: How China Is Rewriting the World’s Media Narrative

by Shashwat Gupta Ray

From the gleaming studios of CGTN in Nairobi to the lecture halls of European universities hosting Confucius Institutes, Beijing has launched an audacious campaign to reshape global information ecosystems. Behind the façade of “global communication” and “cultural exchange,” China exports the same censorship apparatus that has silenced free journalism at home, turning independent media landscapes into compliant echo chambers for authoritarian narratives.

The Architecture of Influence

China’s international propaganda network operates on several fronts. State-run outlets like CGTN and Xinhua News Agency spearhead this expansion, establishing production centers across continents while maintaining tight editorial control from Beijing. CGTN claims to reach audiences in more than 160 countries, with over 150 million followers across digital platforms. This is not just media growth, it’s ideological colonization. The systematic replacement of journalistic independence with party-state narratives is now well underway.

Numbers illustrate the scale of Beijing’s ambition. The government reportedly spends around $3 billion annually on international media operations. That financial muscle enables China to strike content-sharing deals with outlets from Thailand to Kenya, often providing free news, photographs, and videos, without disclosing their Chinese state origins. In 2019, Xinhua signed an agreement with Thailand’s Public Relations Department and later forged partnerships with several Thai media houses, including Channel 3.

Academic Trojans and Digital Manipulation

Confucius Institutes, promoted as cultural and language centers, often serve as propaganda arms of the Chinese state. Operating on roughly 530 campuses worldwide, these institutes have faced repeated allegations of espionage, academic censorship, and intellectual property theft. Even Chinese officials have admitted that Confucius Institutes are “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda apparatus.” The American Association of University Professors found that these institutes “function as an arm of the Chinese state and are allowed to ignore academic freedom.”

Perhaps the most insidious channel of influence, however, lies in the digital sphere. TikTok’s algorithm, trained on vast datasets of user behavior, gives the Chinese Communist Party unprecedented insight into Western societies. Research has shown that the platform uses sophisticated censorship tools that automatically transcribe livestreams and check them against constantly updated lists of banned words, dates, and names. Former ByteDance employees have described how algorithms assist content moderators in swiftly suppressing criticism while boosting pro-China narratives.

Academic studies confirm this bias. Content critical of China receives significantly less visibility than comparable material, while hashtags linked to Xinjiang, Hong Kong protests, or Tiananmen Square are actively suppressed. This practice, “algorithmic authoritarianism”, uses machine-learning systems to manufacture consensus and manipulate public discourse on a massive scale.

The Belt and Road Media Nexus

Beijing has also weaponized economic development for propaganda purposes. The Belt and Road Media Cooperation Union, launched in 2016 with support from the State Council Information Office, now includes over 150 media organizations from 43 countries. These forums function as influence multipliers, training journalists from Africa and Asia in “positive reporting” models that celebrate China’s leadership while discouraging critical coverage.

The results are visible. In Ethiopia, Chinese-trained journalists working in state media routinely glorify Beijing’s role while avoiding reports on labor abuses or debt dependency. In Kenya, the Standard newspaper lost its bi-monthly financial supplement after publishing critical investigations into China-funded railway projects, following direct pressure from Beijing to halt “negative coverage.” This exportation of censorship replicates the Chinese Communist Party’s mechanisms of media control within democratic environments.

Xi Jinping’s War on Truth

This global propaganda campaign stems from Xi Jinping’s systematic dismantling of journalistic independence inside China. Since taking power in 2012, Xi has declared that “all the work by the party’s media must reflect the party’s will, safeguard the party’s authority, and safeguard the party’s unity.” Under this philosophy, journalism exists solely to serve the state. Research shows that scripted propaganda in Chinese newspapers has surged from roughly 5 percent to 20 percent of front-page content during Xi’s tenure, and can reach as high as 50 percent on politically sensitive days.

The media has become an extension of the surveillance state. To retain press credentials, journalists must study regularly updated materials on “Xi Jinping Thought.” Investigative journalism has virtually disappeared. In 2017, China was labeled the world’s “worst jailer of journalists,” imprisoning 38 reporters, nearly half of whom were Uyghurs, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. This fusion of censorship, propaganda, and surveillance represents a totalitarian information system designed for absolute thought control.

The Democratic Alternative

India, by contrast, upholds constitutionally guaranteed pluralism and press freedom. The country hosts over 155,000 registered publications in 23 languages and 908 television channels. There is no national censorship, no state-imposed “firewalls,” and no systemic imprisonment of journalists. Article 19 of India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, subject only to reasonable restrictions that must withstand judicial scrutiny.

Most importantly, media criticism of the government is permitted. The term “Godi media” itself symbolizes open dissent, something impossible under Chinese authoritarianism. Independent outlets, citizen journalists, and social media platforms challenge official narratives without fear of state retaliation. The Right to Information Act empowers citizens to expose corruption, fostering accountability absent in one-party regimes.

For global journalism, the choice is stark: defend editorial independence and pluralism, or yield to Beijing’s worldview, where the media serves only one purpose: to sustain party-state power.

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About Author

Shashwat Gupta Ray is a multiple award-winning defense and strategic affairs journalist with over 20 years of experience in print and digital media. Previously Deputy Editor at Herald Group of Publications and Resident Editor at Gomantak Times, he has extensively covered major events, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and Maoist insurgencies. He is also the creator of the award-winning YouTube channel Uncovering India, which focuses on impactful social and developmental documentaries.