CHINA’S MEDIA MANIPULATION CAMPAIGNS ABROAD
Authors
Franklin, Knykia R.
Subjects
China
Zimbabwe
United Kingdom
United States
media manipulation campaign
information infrastructure
soft power
foreign policy strategic narratives
Brexit
British separation from the European Union
BRI
Belt and Road Initiative
CCTV China Central Television
CGTN
China Global Television Network
The Herald
Newsday
The Telegraph
The Guardian
Xinhua
Zimbabwe
United Kingdom
United States
media manipulation campaign
information infrastructure
soft power
foreign policy strategic narratives
Brexit
British separation from the European Union
BRI
Belt and Road Initiative
CCTV China Central Television
CGTN
China Global Television Network
The Herald
Newsday
The Telegraph
The Guardian
Xinhua
Advisors
Meyskens, Covell F.
Date of Issue
2022-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The Xi Jinping era has marked an unprecedented time for the prioritizing of soft power in China’s foreign policy. Prior literature asserts China pushes three strategic narratives abroad: there are economic benefits to partnering with China, there are political benefits to China’s government model, and partnership with China is more beneficial than with the United States (U.S.). Past literature also asserts that a country’s level of development, its level of democracy, and the amount of Chinese media infrastructure it hosts determines the impact of these strategic narratives in foreign countries. This thesis explores the following: how is China using media to advance its strategic narratives abroad? This was accomplished through an analysis of Chinese sponsored media in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom (UK) from 2012 to 2019, and concludes that the proposed strategic narratives were found in foreign media, had slight success in Zimbabwean media, and were not adopted by UK media. This difference in adoption by the countries was found to support past literature as China was more successful in Zimbabwe because it is authoritarian, less developed, and hosted more effective Chinese media infrastructure than the UK; whereas the UK had more liberal democratic values, was more developed, and fostered a media environment with diversified viewpoints. This study calls for the U.S. to strengthen its strategic narratives abroad to thwart China’s soft power pursuits.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.