Chinese News Site Leaks Country’s Plan to Censor Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Chinese media accidentally shows leaked censorship instructions to say nothing critical of Russia during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

QUICK FACTS:
  • A leak from a Chinese news agency gave details about what information was allowed to be distributed to the Chinese people.
  • According to Reclaim The Net, the translations of the leaked documents from Beijing News indicate nothing anti-Russian may be distributed.
  • The detailed censorship instructions were presumed to reference People’s Daily, Xinhua Agency and CCTV, according to coverage of the leak.
TRANSLATED EXCERPTS FROM THE LEAK:
  • According to translations of the leak, the outlets were told to “carry out selection and control of comments” about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
  • The media teams were also instructed to only use pre-approved hashtags from the state-run major news media.
BACKGROUND:
  • Rumors that ties between Russia and China have been growing increasingly strong in recent years, as reported by the Voice of America, have caused widespread concern.
  • While the Chinese government has not directly shown support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, their  Foreign Minister Wang Yi has only publicly encouraged the countries to “exercise restraint,” Newsweek reported.
  • Yi has continued to insist that the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of any country should be respected and safeguarded.”

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