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https://theconversation.com/barring-access-and-promoting-positive-news-how-the-chinese-government-has-controlled-the-narrative-during-the-tibet-floods-290833>
"As rescue efforts have continued on both sides of the border following the
devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet, a fight over how the disaster is being
reported has been growing in intensity on social media.
The dispute centres on the claims and counterclaims following a story by the
BBC’s China correspondent, Laura Bicker, about how China is censoring videos of
the floods.
Bicker said videos of the landslide and flood surge sweeping through Gyirong
Port on the border was scrubbed from the internet, in part, because Beijing
fears instability in the politically sensitive region of Tibet.
Some social media users, however, have posted screenshots of the footage used
by the BBC, pointing out it had actually been shown in the Chinese media. One
Chinese journalist put it bluntly: “Never seen the BBC spread rumours so
blatantly”.
Another X user said the “middle ground often gets lost” in heated debates like
this over Chinese censorship.
The Chinese government has long complained about what it sees as Western media
“bias” in reporting on Tibet. Its supporters seem to have doubled down on this
narrative this week on social media, zeroing in on the BBC.
But Chinese social media users, both inside and outside China, have long dealt
with the authorities exercising control over information. This has certainly
been the case in the aftermath of the floods, too.
As Bicker noted in her report, the most concrete example is the deletion of
videos showing the massive wave of mud and water swallowing Gyirong Port. The
footage was initially circulated on the platforms Weixin and RedNote, but users
later could not access it.
Another form of control has been the restricted access for independent and
foreign journalists. Allyson Horn of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
said she had made repeated requests to travel to Tibet, but was denied. Other
foreign journalists have similarly been blocked.
This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for foreign media to independently
verify the Chinese government’s account of what happened there.
The absence of independent reporting, combined with the removal of footage from
social media, has allowed the Chinese state media to dominate the narrative."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
