Chinese Communist Party-run media outlet Global Times announced that BBC World News would be banned from airing in the country for “falsified reporting.”
The move comes less than a week after Britain’s top media regulator revoked the broadcasting license for China Global Television Network (CGTN) – another state-run media outlet.
Global Times tweeted on February 11th that the BBC’s Beijing Bureau had engaged in a “slew of falsified reporting on issues including Xinjiang and China’s handling of COVID19.”
China will not allow the broadcast of BBC World News in Chinese mainland after the broadcaster did a slew of falsified reporting on issues including #Xinjiang and China’s handling of #COVID19, a move experts said send clear signal that fake news is not tolerated in China. pic.twitter.com/92UmMkIFJ9
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 11, 2021
“Fake news is not tolerated in China,” the tweet adds.
The move comes on the heels of a Global Times piece arguing for the Chinese Communist Party “to hit back at BBC for repeated fake reports.”
The article hyped the opinions of Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, who said that “BBC’s concoction of fake news reflected the inherent mindset and habit of racism in the West, and a consistent pride and prejudice in British and US policy toward China, seriously influencing their understanding of the nation.
“We may consider revoking BBC’s license in China as the news agency keeps making rumors,” Li forewarned.
