Arms race on sand + Covid propaganda

Have you ever fallen victim to Chinese propaganda? No reason to be ashamed! This happens to business representatives, politicians and scientists all the time. Journalists, too, by the way. But it is not forbidden to learn from one’s mistakes.

Chinese media currently provide textbook propaganda in abundance, which can help us become more aware of the contradictions in the narratives of authoritarian states. A good example is the two completely contradictory Covid narratives from the Chinese central office: Fabian Peltsch describes the phenomenon from zero-Covid to zero-caution.

This example is so valuable because it is rare that lines of arguments in dictatorships have to be so drastically overturned overnight. Because those in power also know that their own credibility suffers as a result. However, this farce offers the opportunity to draw conclusions about other topics in which 180-degree turns are not to be expected and where contradictions, therefore, do not reveal themselves so drastically.

The dispute over the islands in the South China Sea is certainly an issue where China’s propaganda will maintain its original line, no matter what happens. Michael Radunski shows what countermeasures other states take against China’s advance. But here, too, one should not be deceived: The People’s Republic of China is essentially at the root of growing tensions. Whether one is willing to risk this transfer as a consumer of Chinese media is, of course, up to each of us to decide.

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Marcel Grzanna