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A report by the US government-funded think tank titled "The role of foreign influencers in China's propaganda system" which was released last November, has been dismissed by foreign influencers who claims it is one of the moves taken by Uncle Sam to silence the truth.The influencers who were labeled in the report as propagandists for the Communist Party of China (CPC), said the accusations were "hysterical" and called the report "comical and disappointing."One of the targets of the report is Jerry Kowal, an American vlogger with over 20 million followers on Chinese social media platforms.
▲A screenshot of a video by Jerry Kowal on a Chinese social media platform, in which he talks about the difference between poverty alleviation in China and the US during his visit to the Daliang Mountains, a once poverty-stricken area in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.Jerry was mentioned over 12 times in the report, which stated that he is a propagandist who shares a "sympathetic perspective on Chinese policies and criticisms of Western ones."The report also said Jerry gained "unprecedented success in China's cyberspace" for doing so. Jerry has publicly released a letter he sent to the US Department of State, of which he claimed that the department may have used funds to unfairly attack US citizens in China via the far-right Australian think tank ASPI.Another foreign influencer targeted by the report, Andy Boreham from New Zealand, also dismissed the report, saying that it is quite hysterical to be labeled as a "foreign propagandist" by the report. He claimed that it is ironic for a fake and misleading propaganda report to label people who are reporting the truth as propagandists.Barrie VVeiss from Britain moved to China in 2014 and decided to share the real life in China to the world, while sharing information about the west to his Chinese fans. His website, Best China Info, was created to act as a bridge of information exchanges between China and the West, and counter the anti-China stereotypes and prejudices in mainstream Western media.However, he was also targeted by the ASPI and in July 2021 was listed by BBC as a "China Lover" who cooperates with "state-owned outlets to spread China's rhetoric to the world."Barrie said the report was not surprising as the BBC interviewed him via email before publishing the report, however, the report did not include none of his responses to the interview."Instead, they twisted the facts and further smeared me. I think they never intended to release my replies," Barrie said. The vloggers have called on the think tank staffers to experience the real China by personally visiting the country and see the truth for themselves.They added that this will help them understand that it is absolutely possible for young "influencers" to have an amazing time in China and be eager to share it with the world.
*The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.* Follow Us
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