China Global Television Network, a media operation run by the Chinese Communist Party, posted dozens of clips to social media in August echoing talking points used by Democratic operatives, a Washington Examiner review has found. Employees of the network also appear to hold left-of-center beliefs, based on their social media activity.
CGTN, one of China’s most prolific state-run media operations, operates under the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP and was designated as a foreign mission of China by the State Department in 2020. In recent weeks, the network has taken to broadcasting rhetoric similar to that of Democratic politicians and activists, particularly as it relates to issues such as climate change, racial tensions, the law enforcement presence in Washington, D.C., tariffs, the war in Gaza, and immigration.
One such instance involved CGTN sharing a clip from an interview with law professor and former federal prosecutor Paul Pelletier, where he compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler over Trump’s plan to audit Smithsonian-administered museums.
“It is not normal in American history for presidents or political-minded people to become involved in how a museum curates its art and its history,” Pelletier said in an interview with CGTN America posted to its social media accounts on August 15. “[Trump] means to purify history, to reflect something that’s not truth and something that is ideological as opposed to historical. And we do have one, I don’t want to say recent, but one historical, similar action, and that was in 1937 when Hitler took over all the museums in Germany, and he professed an order that all what he called ‘degenerate art’ be removed.”
Partisan rhetoric such as Pelletier’s was hardly isolated to a single video. As August has progressed, CGTN has posted videos matching the different narratives critics on the Left have levied against the president.
For instance, as news broke Monday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had taken Kilmar Abrego Garcia into custody with plans to deport him, CGTN posted a sympathetic clip about the Salvadorian illegal immigrant. Additionally, CGTN has published videos describing anti-Trump protestors as “pro-democracy activists,” Israel’s conduct in Gaza as “the largest and most serious atrocities in modern history,” and Trump’s law enforcement in DC as a “distraction” from his alleged relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The CCP-run conglomerate also posted a video claiming that “America’s power was built on slavery.”
CGTN America’s videos were shared across its relatively large social media presence, which includes 1.6 million Facebook followers, 755,000 subscribers on YouTube, 289,000 followers on Instagram, and about 285,000 followers on X. CGTN’s main account, which boasts over 125 million Facebook followers, will sometimes promote content produced by CGTN America.
On the platforms owned by Meta, namely Facebook and Instagram, users are provided with a disclaimer that CGTN is “China state-controlled media.” YouTube similarly notes that “CGTN is funded in whole or in part by the Chinese government.” No such disclaimer is provided on X.
A 2022 academic paper published by scholars at King’s College in London found that CGTN aims to produce content that portrays the U.S. as “poorly governed, plutocratic, racist, and a destabilizing international influence” in contrast to a China that is “well governed, benign, stable, and a rising superpower.” Contrasting recent CGTN videos that claim Trump’s policies are tanking the U.S. economy or that his administration is engaging in discrimination with videos from CGTN that showcase Chinese technology could serve this aim.
The apparent liberal slant of CGTN’s coverage matches the stated beliefs of some of the reporters it has hired.
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Elliott Wallace, a web producer at CGTN America, has written pieces critical of America’s “obsession” with guns, amplified claims that the United States needs to do more for racial equality, complained about “cultural appropriation,” and asserted that “white nationalism” is a threat to America. Owen Fairclough, the network’s business news correspondent, lists his pronouns on his LinkedIn account. Toni Waterman, who does freelance work with the network, has made frequent posts critical of the president on social media. Kate Fisher, another video news personality who freelances with CGTN, also has a history of liberal social media activity.
CGTN did not respond to a request for comment.