u/RedStarCap - originally from r/GenZhou
The title is my question. Although I am not very sceptical of news coming from the news sources I mentioned, like CGTN, I still think it would be important for me to have pretty strong reasons for convincing my liberal friends to read articles by CGTN to debunk a few myths they have on China.
u/darkcalling - originally from r/GenZhouDo they have a proven track record of lying, not only small lies but very big ones? Do they have a proven track record of doing that in service to imperialist aims? In service of aims to crush the workers? Do they have connections to and do they clear stories with and provide cover for along with outright printing propaganda from some of the most evil organizations on earth such as the CIA which have long laundry lists of crimes against humanity?
Are they owned by capitalists who have capitalist aims from nations known for starting wars under false pretenses and with lies? Iraq, Vietnam, “remember the maine”, etc. Do they ever learn from such lies and being apparently (if we take them at their word that they’re independent and well intentioned) used by these imperialists to spread propaganda? Are they critical of known liars in intelligence agencies or do they time and time again breathlessly print whatever they whisper to them while allowing their sources to remain on deep background to spread whatever info they’d like with no accountability?
The answer in regards to Chinese state media is no on all of the above. The the answer in regards to RFE, BBC, NYT, WaPo, etc is yes, yes, yes with decades of this behavior.
You have to decide, do you prefer the biases of these criminals, these monsters and their propaganda rags or the biases of a state whose modern foreign policy is good neighborliness, no wars, no war crimes, which is very restrained and measured in responding to aggressive intentions. Who don’t resort to bombastic attacks but to appeals to decency and shared values and interests.