Questioning media coverage of the Beijing Olympics
by Virginia Hoge
August 27, 2008
I have been noticing the alarming amount of China-bashing going on in our media leading up to, during, and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but where are they getting their “information” from? This is the troubling question, one that has not been addressed by anyone in the country (that I know of), certainly not in the national headlines.
For instance, a recent article in Huffington Post was entitled “Mixed legacy likely as China’s Olympics conclude”. More of the same came from the New York Times whose headline read “After the Glow of Games, What Next for China?” (two blog columnists at the New York Times conspicuously have bashed China: Nicholas Kristoff and Mike Nizza).
Mixed legacy likely as China’s Olympics conclude? The “mixed legacy”, from what I can see, lies with the Media, more importantly with their sources, and nowhere else.
Almost ALL American media has jumped on the “China-bashing” bandwagon, and has been sounding off about “human rights abuses in China”, picking up information sourced by - and here is the point, WHO? Two groups mainly:
Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders.
Yet Reporters Without Borders has been outed for years as nothing less than a U.S. State Department funded propaganda arm with links to Otto Reich (from Contra days) - see here http://www.counterpunch.org/barahona05172005.html. I found literally thousands of press releases designed expressly for the Beijing Games, here: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25234
I first became aware of them when they mounted an obvious and ugly “media propaganda siege” against the Beijing float in the 2008 Rose Parade in my hometown of Pasadena, CA, Fall 2007. They displayed their “handcuff” graphic on a large billboard in town (a graphic photographed all over the world) and took over the local press (who were already openly sourcing a right-wing extremist, and therefore easy “prey”) barraging my city with more “information” than a 3rd year History of Human Rights Abuse in China PhD student could ever care about!! They also co-opted the the tiny Falun Gong club at Cal Tech.
One small moment of “poetic justice” occurred at the end of all this ugliness, when no one less than Diana Barahona (author of Reporters Without Borders Unmasked) was there, unintentionally, in the audience of the parade.
I wrote about it here, but only after ALL of the local press refused to address the issue: http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/01/reporter-without-borders-media-siege-of.html
Among other writings about this group, I wrote a recap of their anti-Olympic’s campaign. As a graphic designer, I could not help but notice their blatant use of propaganda, via clearly expensive and trendy graphics: http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/04/reporters-without-borders-anti-olympics.html.
More than anything I have discovered about this group, what is most alarming to me is their proliferation within our Media. They are used as an almost constant source for “news” on a daily basis. Yet, one finds right out there in the open, information coming from them, that is either biased or bogus.
Take their 2008 Annual Report “Freedom of the Press Worldwide” http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25595. Reporters Without Borders has built a reputation (and bank account) by outing censorship of journalists around the world - yet give this ridiculous 2008 assessment for the United States, which contains almost nothing more than:
ONE (count ‘em) Iraqi journalist detained in Guantanamo
ONE blogger, Josh Wolf, got three paragraphs detailing his plight
A big plug for the Shield Law
A plug for the Freedom of Information Act (an act that has become a tool for the Right to attack public institutions like public schools)
And that’s it! (come on!)
People around the world have called RWB out for giving out the wrong information, seemingly based on how tight they are with the U.S. - or not. Here, Hossein Derakhshan writes about their misleading “information” on Iran:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/hossein_derakhshan/2006/12/reporters_without_borders_rsf.html
excerpt:
“Reporters Sans Frontier, sent out a press release announcing that Iran has blocked access to The New York Times, implying that the Islamic republic has expanded censorship to Western news websites and this is in line with the new anti-Western policies of president Ahmadinejad.
A few hours after that, through trusted journalists and friends in Tehran, I verified the report and realized that almost none of the websites mentioned in the report, including the New York Times were filtered.”
In Rwanda, they noticed some funky stuff going on as well: Rwanda: Reporters Without Borders Pulls a Scam Again
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802290947.html
This incredibly prolific spread of information (I would call it “dirt”) condemning other countries is super-alarming to me, because I often find it clearly politically motivated. Yes, the information exists, but what is not mentioned is how it has been selected and literally shoved down the throats of the entire nation, via the Media, via Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch.
I wrote about the obvious benefits of all this to the Bush Administration here: http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/08/bush-gets-gold.html
Human Rights Watch is up for questioning as well.
For more information on Human Rights Watch, Read Paul Treanor’s excellent (and forgotten) article here:
Who is behind Human Rights Watch?
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/HRW.html
Robin Kelley, professor of history and American studies and ethnicity at USC, also noted in a recent lecture that Human Rights Watch does not currently address ANY human rights issues in the United States (unlike their past good work with prison abuse here).
I also noticed that they have “stepped in” as THE most-used source, replacing Reporters Without Borders during the Olympics. Could the fact that Human Rights Watch opened a headquarters in Paris last Fall have anything to do with that? How close are the two organizations?
I’m not saying this group is all bad, I am NOT saying that human rights are not important.
But both organization’s “work” in helping America’s media to condemn the Beijing Olympics, is nothing less than highly suspicious and needs to be looked into, if only to prevent something like this from happening again. These embarrassing media games, are below the dignity of our great country.
That said, the grace of the Chinese in ignoring this petty “media siege” and continuing on with their work producing the Games, is awe-inspiring.
What is wrong with this picture? answer - since when do protester's carry signs with corporate logos on them?
Monkey Business - this ridiculous and staged photograph illustrates exactly Who is wearing the handcuffs
Reporters Without Borders billboard erected in Pasadena, CA - just in time for the Rose Parade (note the channel 7 logo in the corner)
Same handcuff image was displayed all over the world (how much did this Graphic campaign cost? who paid for it?)
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Olympic games updates » Blog Archive » Questioning media coverage of the Beijing Olympics
28 Aug 08 at 1:44 am
Truly independent and objective press should check facts rather than relying on a few sources.
James
28 Aug 08 at 9:00 am
Thank you Virginia for your objective observations. Following the close of Olympics, the wind of Western media seems to have changed, and more positive reports are beginning to emerge, any observations on this?
James
28 Aug 08 at 3:06 pm
I read the article of Tony Blair - I have to say it is the most objective observation on China I have read from any politician in the West.
Unfortunately, Western politicians can only say what they truly feel after they retire.
Isn’t it surprising that even the top Western politicians don’t have the freedom to speak their minds.
Hasn’t the media also played a part in putting pressures on their politicians not to say what they truly feel?
James
28 Aug 08 at 3:12 pm
I think the vast part America was BLOWN AWAY by the Olympics and feels great about China.
That said, I think whatever forces are trying to foster Hate between the two countries, are still very much at work!
The only hope really is that the public themselves will now be more critical of the Media, and that reaction will quiet them down.
Also, there is hope with some of the new online press sources that aren’t as biased as the mainstream press (although, as I mentioned in my article, I was VERY dismayed to see Huffington Post - which is well-respected by Liberals - participating in the negative reporting. But this might change).
Virginia
28 Aug 08 at 5:38 pm
Dear Virginia, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your objectivity and courage. The biggest concern I have is that politicians will need a scapegoat when the economy is in recession. We have the election ahead of us. As the troops start to pull out of Iraq, the focus will come back to the lost jobs, inflation, oil price etc. China is a perfect target to blame. Unfortunately, ordinary people will not have a chance to form independent judgment because of lack of complete information. We need people like you to speak out!!
A Chinese in America
28 Aug 08 at 8:19 pm
I am one of those liberals that visit Huffington Post. If China aspires to become a true leader, it ought to become more transparent and learn to learn from criticism. America faces far more ‘attacks’ than China! It is the fate of a ’superpower’.
Liberal
28 Aug 08 at 10:52 pm
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QinetiQ says it has broke unmanned abandonment record (AP) ·
29 Aug 08 at 4:04 am
“If China aspires to become a true leader, it ought to become more transparent and learn to learn from criticism.” - I agree, but it will take some time. China is already more transparent in business.
“America faces far more ‘attacks’ than China!” - can you elaborate more?
James
29 Aug 08 at 8:34 am
Maybe attack is a strong word. I mean press attack, attack by words. Just read on daily basis how many negative articles are written about Bush administration, or even just Virginia’s opinion piece here. Imagine having as much negative Chinese press about your Mr. Hu and his party in China! Pick up any newspaper in Europe, it is attacking USA on its foreign policy first, maybe domestic policy second followed by issues involving China.
Liberal
29 Aug 08 at 10:13 am
I don’t understand WHY this has been allowed to go on as long as it has. People (brave people) have been writing about Reporters Without Borders for YEARS to no avail.
I don’t understand the hold they have, but I can feel it is not a good one.
I always say with the Internet, the beauty of it is that you cannot block the Truth, it disperses like ink into water…
so lets HOPE that finally this can get out, because it is so dangerous for MY country (not to mention the others).
Anonymous
31 Aug 08 at 3:53 pm
thats my comment above (forgot to fill out the name bar).
Virginia
31 Aug 08 at 3:54 pm
Liberal, if you read Chinese and you visit the Chinese blogs, you will see all kinds of complaints about the Chinese government, both central and local governments and officials.
Unfortunately most people in the West form their opinions about China using secondary sources.
Most Western people have neither been to the country nor read any Chinese, so their sources of information are extremely limited. When these sources are biased, people are misinformed and manipulated.
James
31 Aug 08 at 7:14 pm
Thats exactly it, James.
And why is the being allowed to happen??
Virginia
1 Sep 08 at 3:39 pm
sorry - make that “this” - why is This being allowed to happen?
Why are American newspapers/online news sources (Liberal ones also) using biased sources for information on China?
Virginia
1 Sep 08 at 3:41 pm
Virginia, if you are upset about the US, read what German press just did. Chinationreport posted that a pro-China reporter got suspended because of reporting truth.
Richard
2 Sep 08 at 7:02 pm
Virginia,
Thank you for speaking the truth!
Lili
11 Sep 08 at 10:28 pm
Not unrelated to this subject is Taiwan’s gift of $100,000 to Reporters Without Borders in December 2006. This award was created in 2006, at just the same time as I was probing into RSF grants from the CIA-linked International Republican Institute. After some panicky phone calls and emergency meetings between RSF and its patrons in Washington, I received the official story that RSF was not receiving money from the IRI after all. Months later, Taiwan announces this award, and claims there were 20 other contenders, but that their identity could not be revealed “to avoid controversy”!
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/12/26/2003341995
It would have been too obvious if the award had ended there, but democracy promotion has always been a good investment and $100,000 is a small price to pay for buying people off. What’s $100,000 between Taiwan and its “closest ally”?
“The TFD awarded the 2007 ADHRA to Dr. Cynthia Maung for her efforts to serve the Burmese refugee community and building respect for human rights along the Thai-Burmese border.”
Diana Barahona
22 Sep 08 at 11:51 pm
New news!!!
China Beat, a blog out of UC Irvine (named one of the “best” China blogs by the Wall Street Journal), is perpetuating this deceit! They recently published an article defending the “Float of Shame” protests in Pasadena.
http://thechinabeat.blogspot.com/2009/01/human-rights-and-chinas-public.html
The blog has refused to publish my comments on their story.
Why would UC Irvine sponsor and support, a tacky condemnation of China and a not-so-subtle insult to their Olympic games?
Does the University have NO links to China? I believe it does!
Virginia
3 Feb 09 at 11:20 am