Västerländska influencers reser runt i Kina på regimens bekostnad | NTD NYHETER
Från Youtubers med tiotals miljoner följare till popikoner och NBA-stjärnor – en ny generation unga, välkända västerländska profiler har blivit Kinas nya favoritambassadörer.
Dessa influencers bjuds in till noggrant planerade, statligt styrda rundturer i Kina, där myndigheterna övervakar varje steg.
När de återvänder förmedlar de Pekings budskap och sprider regimens narrativ till en global publik.
#USA #Kina #influencer #youtuber
Recently, China gave Peking a new initiative in its state-owned daily newspaper,
where they offer 10-day trips to China in July, fully funded by the state.
And who gets to participate? Young influencers with at least 300,000 followers,
provided that they market the trip on their platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and X.
But these trips are not just about showing off Asian snacks and culture.
Participants are also allowed to visit China's largest companies, such as electric car manufacturer BYD,
one of Tesla's main competitors, as well as leading actors in e-commerce.
Behind the scenes, there are still problems such as forced labor, factory work under pressure,
censored dissidents and other social concerns, all hidden behind an iron curtain made up of Peking.
Critics believe that the image of China that influencers get to be a part of
Instead, the intention is to reduce the Western public's awareness of the threats China poses,
as well as to build up sympathy for the authoritarian government.
This is not a new strategy. Take the YouTube star Aisho Speed, with over 40 million followers as an example.
In March, he directly broadcast his state-funded round trip, which attracted great attention on the Internet.
China's state media praised his marketing of the country.
French NBA star Victor Vembanyama is also now in China, just on such a 10-day trip.
His visit was first mentioned in the Chinese newspaper People's Daily Overseas Edition,
where he was cited as a school example of how China's soft power strategy works.
China is also trying to attract American pop artists.
In this year's edition of the Chinese music competition Singer 2025, four American artists have been invited.
In an interview with state media, the famous singer Mickey Gaiton compared the Chinese society to the US.
The Australian think tank ASPI warned in a report from 2023 that the CCP is using foreign influencers
to spread the party's well-known narrative to a global audience.