BY DR AUSTIN MAHO
The skewed flow of global news and information which favors countries of the Western hemisphere to the detriment of those in the south means that just like Africa, China has become a major victim of fake news and misinformation.
The global media for decades have been under the control of the west and they have exploited this near total dominance to weaponised news and information flow all in a bid to sustain western hegemony and portray a global narrative that suits capitalist agenda.
A major legacy of colonialisation and neo colonialisation is that the west as a result of its near total dominance of information flow to Africa often have the ability to also control the narratives about China. Many people in Africa see China from the prism of western media narratives which more often than not is not a reflection of the real China.
The consequence is that there is a pervasiveness of fake news and misinformation about China in Africa. China for many years after the 1949 revolution was reticent and closed itself to the outside world. However, since 1978 under Chinese leader Deng Xioping, China began the process of reforms and gradual opening up. Chinese influence and power have continued to spread around the world. Like an elephant China can no longer hide behind a tree.
However, like Deng Xiaoping famously said, when you open the window to allow fresh air both flies and air come in. China’s rising to global influence means it has become a major victim of fake news and misinformation.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive infrastrutural development project aimed at connecting China with other parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa,
for instance has been portrayed by sections of the global media as an attempt by China to spread hegemony and lure developing countries into a debt trap. The Forum for China Africa Cooperation ( FOCAC) has similarly come under criticism by western media, while they have conveniently ignored the impact these forums are having in infrastructure development across the world particularly in Africa; Boosting trade through connectivity and people to people relation.
Expectedly, as China’s global influence continues to grow there would be a corresponding increase in the level of fake news and misinformation about China. This is were journalists and information manager, especially in Africa and other developing countries must be on their guard.
China has suffered a lot of fake news, a consequence of global geopolitics and skewed information flow that favors the global west to the detriment of the global south.
Fake news have serious consequences, beacuse it ends up misinforming the public about China and Chinese citizens and Influencing peoples’ opinions and decisions about China.
The preponderance of fake news about China is capable of fueling conspiracy theories and undermining south south solidarity.
As an African journalist, one is daily confronted with negative and often outrightly fake news about China. As outrageous as some of these fake news are, it is sometimes shocking to see that some gullible people including journalists believe them and propagate these fake news on the pages of their publications and on social media.
The common saying that when a dog bites a man it is not news but when a man bites a dog it is news can be used to describe the way some journalists see stories, especially negative stories about China and the Chinese. Anything about China and Chinese nationals is seen as news worthy especially if it is negative.
Here are some examples of fake news about China, that spreads stereotypes and misinformation, about China and Chinese people..
1. Forced organ harvesting: False claims that China harvests human organs from Africa for export to China.
In April 2021 the Nigerian media space was awashed with a fake story about the harvesting of the male reproductive organ by Chinese nationals in Nigeria and other West African countries to China. A motion was even raised in the Nigeria House of Representative during plenary on the need to investigate the illicit trade. The motion referenced a fake story about Chinese officials seizing a vessel from Nigeria carrying 7200 penises!
2. That China send prisoners to serve out their time as workers in Africa.
There have been reports and allegations that China sends prisoners to work in Africa, but these claims have never been confirned nor verified, they are exaggerated and based on ignorance or incomplete information. Some reports suggest that China has sent prisoners to work on infrastructure projects in Africa as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), or on projects funded through FOCAC in African countries . However, these reports are often anecdotal and lack concrete evidence. However, these rumours may have gained traction as a result of the descipline, spartan orientation and regimented lifestyle of the average Chinese worker.
3. That the Chinese are responsible for illegal mining in Africa. These claims are largely inconclusive. As an African journalist, i have investigated most of these arrests in my country Nigeria. In some of cases i discovered that many Chinese that were arrested for illegal mining in Nigeria are only staff of companies owned by local Nigerian miners. The Chinese were employed and assured by the local.miners that all necessary mining permits have been obtained for lawful operations of the mines. However the media is often quick to report that Chinese have been arrested for illegal mining but failing to report that they are employees and not owners of these mines.
4. China’s “debt-trap diplomacy”. This claim asserts that China intentionally lends money to developing countries to trap them in debt. As an African journalist, i have researched and reported on this issue extensively and my findings shows that rather than plunging poor African countries into debt distress China has provided debt relief to poor African countries, and demonstrated a willingness to support poor African nations during challenging times.
China actively participated in a Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI)
With the G20, and suspended over $1.3 billion in debt service payments for 16 African countries.
Similarly, under the platform of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China canceled interest-free loan debts for 15 African countries, totaling at least $113.8 million in 2021. Countries like:
Angola, Zambia Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda have been major beneficiaries of debt forgiveness from China, demonstrating China’s willingness to supporting African countries through debt relief measures.
Furthermore, independent think tank groups like the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI), has empirically shown that “Chinese loans are not currently a major contributor to debt distress in Africa”.
5. Uyghur “concentration camps” and human rights abuses. The media is often awash with exaggerated reports about human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang vocational training centers.
The truth however, is that, as a result of the Chinese government policy, Xinjiang has become one of the most prosperous region of China as attested to by many foreign journalists and visitors to the region.
6. China’s “aggressive” military expansion. This hypes China’s military modernization as an aggressive threat for global dominance. However, China has always stressed its peaceful rise to power without seeking hegemony or domination over other nations.
7. That contract signed between China and African countries are written in Chinese, withou. In the views of those peddling this news, this allows for obfucation and the insertion of unfriendly clauses into the contracts, since those signing the contract do not understand what they are signing. This only portrays African bureaucracy as dumb. Besides through the efforts of China by establishing confucian imstitue all over the continent hundreds of thousands of Africans now speak Madarin, the Chinese language.
8. Falsified economic data. Claims that China falsifies economic statistics, often based on flawed methodologies.
9. COVID 19 origin claim and conspiracies. Former president of the United States tried very hard to pin COVID 19 origin on China. In the beginning of the pandemic, he deliberately labelled the virus, “Wuhan virus” and later “the Chinese virus”. These labelling were designed to make China take the blame for the origin of the virus and the Western media played active roles in propagating this narrative. The World Health Organization, (WHO), irrespective of pressures from the United States has maintained that the origin of COVID19 is inconclusive.
10. That the Chinese are racist and discriminatory .
In April 2024, relying on a social media post, a mainstream Nigerian newspaper, the Punch, reported that a Chinese owned supermarket in Abuja, the nation’s capital, allows entry solely to Chinese nationals while restricting Nigerians from patronising the establishment. The story thereafter took a life of its own gaining an unusual interest by other local and the international media. The Chinese were accused of discrimination.
I personally followed up on the story including interviewing the reporter that wrote the story.
My findings were revealing. The reporter told me he went to the shop undercover. He admitted to me that he was not barred from entering the shop and even bought some items from the shop. I asked him directly if he felt discriminated against? He answered in the negative. Yet this reporter went ahead to write a damaging report claiming that the supermarket had implemented a controversial policy of restricting Nigerians to the facility.
What was obvious to me was that the reporter was doing a hatchet job for those who sent him to cover the story even when evidence was to the contrary.
It is on the basis of such premeditated narratives that the Chinese are often accused of discriminatory practices. As someone who has visited China and interacted with the Chinese at close quarters, i can say without equivocation that the Chinese are the most friendly, and accommodating people you can come across anywhere in the world.
China has through initiatives like the BRI and FOCAC is spreading development to the world based on its own experiences.
China has sucessfully drained the swamp of abject poverty and lifted 800 million of its population out of poverty significant contributing to the reduction of global poverty.
Having achieved its centenary goal of ending poverty, China is now committed to its next centenary goal of building a modern socialist state that is prosperous in all ramification. This is the core principle behind Chinese modernization in the new era.
China has demonstrated a committment to the principle of win win and shared future for humanity . “A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full bloom bring spring to the garden.”President Xi Jinping has through this quote expressed his vision on the common development of the world and his appreciation of diversity of nation and inclusivity.
It helps explain a China that has invested itself in the Belt and Road initiative, Forum Of China Africa Cooperation and the pursuit of a community with a shared future for humanity through several Global initiatives like the Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI); in its core conviction that humanity belongs to us all.
The fight against fake news is global but as African journalists, we must work together in the spirit of South South cooperation to combat fake news. We must adhere to the ethics of the profession. Collaboration in information gathering is key.
Happily, the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) is working in this direction by bringing together media professionals from across the global to work together collaboratively to share information and to combat fake news and misinformation.
As a privileged member of the BRNN l have attended two forums and they have afforded me the opportunity to network with journalists from fellow African countries and other parts of the world.
The BRNN has greatly helped me to network with colleagues from other parts of Africa and verify information which ordinarily l wouldn’t have been able to seek an immediate alternative response.
A good example was in May 2020, when reports were rife in the international media that Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) was at risk of being taken over by the Chinese due to debt repayment issues. I immediately contacted a fellow BRNN member in Zambia, who sent me all the necessary information i needed to write an informed report, including official statement by the Zambian government denying the report of take over of the airport. My network through the BRNN enabled me to verify the information and avoiding the web of fake news spreading on mainstream and social media.
In September 2024 the Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, called on Chinese media outlets to join forces with Nigeria media and other international partners in the fight against fake news and misinformation. This call by a high ranking Nigerian government official underscores the importance of tackling fake news and misinformation about China through collaborative efforts.
The Nigerian minister made this appeal during the unveiling of a television documentary titled “Traverse China with Me” in Abuja the Nigerian capital city. The documentary is a collaborative effort between the government owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the China Media Group. (CMG).
This call by the Nigerian minister is essential and significant because the media guide society, in promoting mutual understanding and development.
People rely on the media to give them the information they need to be active participants in the political process.
What then happens when such information is based on falsehood?
This poses significant danger to the society. The media should not allow itself to be used to distabilise society or pursue dangerous agenda
We therefore need stronger media partnership to be able to confront and combat the menace of fake news.
Happily also our publication Daybreak Nigeria realizes the importance of media collaboration and has since 2021 developed a content sharing partnership with Peoples’ Daily of China. Through this partnership we have curated over 4000 articles on China on our website, and also created a special page “Inside China”, in our print edition. This collaboration with Peoples’ Daily is designed to bring China closer to our readers and nip misinformation and fake news in the bud.
Collaboration and content sharing should be seen as a step towards fighting fake news and misinformation. More partnership must be encouraged between Chinese media and media organizations especially in developing countries.
More partnership can be in the areas of:
News exchange, bridging the digital divide, training, production of documentaries that emphasise social and development issues among others. We need to promote more stories that tells the unique experiences of China and African countries.
We need accuracy in news and programmmes that reflect development and people to people exchanges. Reporting China should be accurate, objective and balanced. African and Chinese media can work together in shaping global public opinion and communication and promote building a community with a shared future and win win for China and Africa.
As journalists we should inspire hope and not fear. We should endear collaboration and not suspicion. We should stop copying stories fed to us by western media outlets without first ensuring they pass the test of accuracy and objectivity.
When encountering news about China,we must verify information through reputable sources and contacts. Critical thinking and media literacy are essential in combating fake news and promoting a nuanced understanding of the real China.
DR AUSTIN MAHO IS A PUBLIC AFFAIRS ANALYST, A MEDIA SCHOLAR, LECTURER, AND PUBLISHER OF DAYBREAK NIGERIA AND THE DRAGON MAGAZINE
