Global Times: When US accuses China on information dominance, it’s like Uncle Sam talking about itself 環球時報：美國指責中國資訊霸權，就像山姆大叔在談論自己 Sept 29 2023

The hypocrisy of the US is on full display in its newly-released report on China, while Washington’s anxiety on its own capability to dominate public opinion is also bubbling. The report, launched by the US Department of State on Thursday local time, is called “How The People’s Republic Of China Seeks To Reshape The Global Information Environment.” And the first reaction of the most readers is – isn’t the report about the US itself?

The report focuses on accusing China of information manipulation via propaganda, disinformation, and censorship in an attempt to seek information dominance globally. Yet it sounds more like a portrayal of Uncle Sam himself when he is looking at the mirror, and then makes it about China, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times.

Has China ever manipulated global information like the US has been doing? Like the time when Washington claimed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the media parroted the claim, and US allies followed suit in US-led invasion of the Middle East country? Or like the time when the US faced the world’s highest COVID death toll, the US took the top spot on Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking?

If the US claims No. 2 in the world in disinformation and public opinion manipulation campaign, no one dares to claim No. 1. Think about how US political elites and media outlets uniformly bleats the word “unprovoked” in reference to Russia-Ukraine conflict, despite the fact that the conflict was not only provoked, but deliberately provoked by NATO’s eastward expansion; and how the US distracts public attention from US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh’s report that the US was the mastermind behind the Nord Stream pipelines explosion, by claiming the sabotage was made by a six-member team of a pro-Ukraine group.

The US takes every measure to make the world hostile against Washington’s rivals. Launching an information war against China is therefore a part of US containment strategy, with a goal to create an “evil” image of China in the international public opinion arena. The new report is simply a latest example in US long list of tactics to make the world vigilant toward China.

This is why the US has been encircling China, half a world away from US own soil, with a chain of military bases and ports, yet calling China an “aggressor.” When a Chinese civilian unmanned airship accidentally floated over the US, the later made no hesitation in labelling the incident an act of espionage. The hysteria lasted for months until Pentagon, after a lengthy examination, confirmed it did not collect any information, not to mention send any data back to China.

American elites are so comfortable living in their echo chamber to repeat their accusation on “forced labor in Xinjiang,” which appears in almost every China-related report issued by US authorities. Unsurprisingly, it also shows up in the latest report. When people, especially from Western countries, have actually visited Xinjiang, acknowledge the development, improved healthcare, rising education and employment levels in the region, as what they see with their bare eyes, the politicians in Washington are busying clamoring so-called genocide and forced labor.

But whenever someone tells the truth, or whenever Chinese media tell the truth, they are labelled as a puppet of a Chinese propaganda machine. Who is manipulating information? How come the US has the freedom to spread disinformation but China becomes a manipulator for telling the truth?

The US State Department gets one thing wrong. It is not China manipulating information. But the US has been undermining its own credibility by lying for so long. It seems the US can also sense the fragility of its manipulation. Unfortunately, the way it responds to it is spreading more disinformation by smearing its rivals.

The more the US tries, the more its hypocrisy is exposed. The last thing the US cares about is public access to information, it cares about its hegemony, including that in the information field. Otherwise, why Julian Assange and Edward Snowden have to go through prosecution just for telling the truth?

美國的虛偽性在其最新發布的對華報告中暴露無遺，華盛頓對自身輿論主導能力的焦慮也正在醞釀中。 這份由美國國務院於當地時間週四發布的報告名為《中華人民共和國如何尋求重塑全球資訊環境》。 而多數讀者的第一個反應是──這不是報道美國本身嗎？

該報告重點指責中國透過宣傳、虛假資訊和審查制度操縱訊息，試圖謀求全球資訊主導地位。 然而，復旦大學教授沈毅告訴《環球時報》，這聽起來更像是山姆大叔照鏡子時的寫照，然後又把它變成了中國。

中國是否曾像美國那樣操縱過全球資訊？ 就像當年華盛頓宣稱伊拉克擁有大規模殺傷性武器，媒體人雲亦雲，美國盟友也跟著效仿，以美國為首入侵中東國家？ 或者像美國面臨全球最高新冠死亡人數時一樣，美國在彭博社的新冠恢復力排名中名列第一？

如果說美國的假訊息和輿論操縱世界第二，那麼沒有人敢稱第一。想想美國的政治精英和媒體在談到俄羅斯和烏克蘭衝突時如何一致喊出「無端」一詞儘管衝突不僅是北約東擴挑起的，而且是故意挑起的； 以及美國如何轉移公眾對美國調查記者西摩·赫什（Seymour Hersh）的報道的注意力，該報道稱美國是北溪管道爆炸的幕後黑手，聲稱這次破壞活動是由一個親烏克蘭組織的六人團隊所為。

美國採取一切措施讓世界對華盛頓的競爭對手懷有敵意。 因此，對中國發動資訊戰是美國遏制戰略的一部分，目的是在國際輿論上塑造中國「邪惡」形象。 這份新報告只是美國一系列讓世界對中國保持警覺的策略中的最新例子。

這就是為什麼美國一直在距離美國本土半個地球之外的地方，用一系列軍事基地和港口包圍中國，卻稱中國為「侵略者」。 當一艘中國民用無人飛艇意外漂浮在美國上空時，後者毫不猶豫地將這起事件定性為間諜行為。 這種歇斯底里的情緒持續了幾個月，直到五角大廈經過長時間的檢查後，確認它沒有收集任何訊息，更不用說將任何數據發送回中國了。

美國精英們如此安逸地生活在回音室裡，重複他們對「新疆強迫勞動」的指控，這一點幾乎出現在美國當局發布的所有涉華報告中。 毫不奇怪，它也出現在最新的報告中。 當人們特別是西方國家的人們真正到訪新疆，親眼看到新疆的發展、醫療保健的改善、教育和就業水平的提高時，華盛頓的政客們卻忙著叫囂所謂的「種族滅絕」和「種族滅絕」。強制性勞役。

但每當有人說真話，或每當中國媒體說真話時，就會被貼上中國宣傳機器的傀儡的標籤。 誰在操縱資訊？ 為什麼美國有散播假訊息的自由，而中國卻因為講真話而成為操縱者？

美國國務院搞錯了一件事。 這不是中國在操縱資訊。 但美國長期以來的謊言已經損害了自己的信譽。 看來美國也能感受到其操縱的脆弱性。 不幸的是，它的回應方式是透過抹黑競爭對手來散佈更多虛假資訊。

美方越是嘗試，就越暴露出其虛偽性。 美國最不關心的是資訊公開，它關心的是自己的霸權，包括資訊領域的霸權。 否則，為什麼朱利安·阿桑奇和愛德華·斯諾登僅僅因為說實話就必須受到起訴？