Have you ever seen these ad inserts in local newspapers? Made to look like news, they boast China as a tourist destination, or paint a positive image of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, as this one was published on USA Today, saying Xi’s visit to an American school left an indelible mark on its students.
These news articles that look alike are actually ads paid for by Beijng’s top propaganda outlet, China Daily newspaper.
Adding these inserts in U.S. publications is one tool Beijing uses to influence American policy and opinion. And the outlets printing them are some of the most influential in the United States, like Foreign Policy, Time Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times.
Since 2016, China has spent over $300 million to influence U.S. public opinion, more than any other country. That’s according to OpenSecrets, a Washington DC-based nonprofit that tracks lobbying data.
China Daily is one of Beijing’s top agents carrying out the task in the United States, spending over $8 million in 2022 to do it.