Tuesday, November 8, 2016

US election: a gift for Chinese propaganda

US election: a gift for Chinese propaganda: No matter who triumphs on Tuesday, the US election has been a big win for China's national propaganda machine, which has gleefully catalogued the seemingly endless parade of skeletons marching out of America's political closet.

For decades Beijing has disparaged US democracy, calling into question the most basic building blocks of the state, from competitive elections to freedom of the press.

Ahead of this year's election, Chinese journalists received instructions to write stories making American politics look bad, according to sources familiar with the orders.

As the primaries began, one reporter at a major state-run media organisation, who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity, worried he would have a hard time finding sufficiently damning material.

His doubts were unjustified.