How Western media outlets smear China

The Western media has demonstrated a double standard in regard to the Ukraine conflict. While hardly any stories relating to a report about alleged US involvement in the September 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage in Europe appeared in mainstream Western media for weeks, stories about China purportedly considering “lethal support” to Russia dominated the Western headlines on Feb 19.

China Daily’s Media Unlocked team has found that Western media rely on anonymous sources, echo chambers and double standards to make unsubstantiated claims to smear China.

At least 46 stories on the topic appeared on Feb 19, repeating the claim from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken without providing evidence. The number almost doubled from the previous day.

On the same day at the annual Munich Security Conference, US VicePresident Kamala Harris warned China against supporting Russia.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview that China would “cross a red line” if it provided military support to Russia. The media reported the same claim by different people without providing evidence.

These reports always started with a government leak. The day before the “news” broke, CNN, in another story, cited an anonymous source saying that China would step up military aid for Russia. In January, the news channel quoted an anonymous source from the Joe Biden administration who suggested that Chinese companies had been providing non-lethal support to Russia in the conflict.

Biased reporting on the conflict — and the campaigns that portray China as a perpetrator — have helped push the conflict along and prolong it in ways that have only cost lives and enriched US weapons makers.