this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Luckily most countries don't believe the lies the US is trying to spread about China.

[–] Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (3 children)

The lies the US spread about china... which are those? Just curious.

[–] MaeBorowski@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Just take a look at any mainstream western media that mentions China and it shouldn't take too long to spot a lie, it will probably even be in the headline. Even just the fact that it's practically a joke-meme that anything China does that is unambiguously positive will get a headline in the west that includes "But At wHaT cOsT?!?"

But for a few obvious, overt examples: Uighur "genocide." Spy balloons. Winnie the Pooh ban. Social credit scores.

[–] joenforcer@midwest.social 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Got sources that debunk those? I'd like to learn.

[–] MaeBorowski@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

And just to add, if you somehow missed it like I did (until just a minute ago), @davel@lemmy.ml provided a ton of information debunking the Uyghur "genocide" myth right here in this very thread. He just did a great favor for any well-meaning liberals who actually want to find out more about what the situation really is in Xinjiang, he basically did yall's homework for you.

[–] MaeBorowski@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago

Well, the most serious lie fortunately has the most material that thoroughly proves its falsehood. The following link contains more links to many such resources: https://xinjiangahr.carrd.co/ It's a place to start, both if you want just immediate proof that there is no genocide as well as if you want to learn more about what really has been going on in Xinjiang.

Even though they still are obligated to call it a spy balloon because The Narrative is still officially that it was, even western media have quietly admitted that despite flying across the continent, the balloon did absolutely no spying and actually appeared to be utterly incapable of doing any spying. Weird, how inefficient! And seriously, anyone who has even a passing knowledge of weather balloons or spycraft would have told you this from the beginning, as many did. https://xcancel.com/Reuters/status/1674507379306557462

No, Winnie the Pooh is not banned in China and simply looking around a bit for things that exist in China confirms this. Telling people who live in China that people in the US believe Pooh is banned will result in laughter. This is in China, does it look banned? https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/attractions/adventures-winnie-pooh/ There was a racist caricature image/meme that along with portraying Xi as Pooh also portrayed Obama as the Tigger character. (I would hope no one here would need explaining why both of those are extremely racist). That specific racist image was officially censored online, but censoring racism is a good thing, and again, Pooh the character, the franchise, or anything else like that, none of it banned. That it was is just another silly lie. Though the whole of reddit (for example) believes the lie because it aligns with the rest of the bullshit they think they know about China which is just straight up false.

China's infamous "Social Credit Score" also isn't real: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/11/16/chinas-orwellian-social-credit-score-isnt-real/ There is a kind of rating system of businesses that allows people to score them based on how well they are a service to the community they're in, but seeing as most people would recognize that as a good thing, the sinophobic propagandists won't tell you that, but instead fabricate yet another bogus story to paint China as a boogeyman. This one is especially galling because all the scary things they made up with this one actually has a much worse version that is reality in the west. It's such a blatant case of projection it's jokerifying.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Many, like the exploding helmets thing, or the idea of Xi being an unaccountable dictator.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Should be easily proven by giving an example of Xi being held to account.

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

For what exactly?

Meanwhile in burgerland, Obama dropped an average of 60 bombs on north africa and the middle east every single day during his presidency. Have the US people held him to account, and have him face a war crimes tribunal for this atrocity against humanity?

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world -1 points 2 months ago

For what exactly?

Anything. One example of Xi being held to account disproves the description of an unaccountable dictator.

Obama dropped bombs

"The president has, in this capacity, plenary power to launch, direct and supervise military operations, order or authorize the deployment of troops, unilaterally launch nuclear weapons, and form military policy with the Department of Defense and Homeland Security."

Yes, for these actions the president is accountable to no-one for 4 years.

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml -3 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] joenforcer@midwest.social 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This isn't a helpful answer and comes across as disingenuous. You should provide even just a few.

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 months ago

I'm not going to come up with an argument for you, then debate against it.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The US and China are rapidly approaching a new kind of media-driven Cold War, with the unaligned nations being the battlefronts for dueling propaganda efforts. The problem that the western propagandists have is that they've generally gotten really bad at it. Gone are the days of Marshall Plans and international trade deals. All the NATO states seem to know how to do is ratchet up their sanctions regime.

To quote Dr Lubinda Haabazoka, Director of the University of Zambia Graduate School of Business and former President of the Economics Association of Zambia

Every time China visits we get a hospital, every time Britain visits we get a lecture.

[–] MaeBorowski@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The US and China are rapidly approaching a new kind of media-driven Cold War

I'd say we're already there even though it is largely one-sided.

with the unaligned nations being the battlefronts for dueling propaganda efforts

How do you figure? I'm not saying you're wrong, just rather I don't see too much propaganda aimed at other nations, rather it's imperial core countries aiming their propaganda at their own populations for usual consent-manufacturing reasons, and perhaps China aiming a little bit at their own population but to a far lesser extent as to be almost insignificant in comparison. China doesn't really need to manufacture any consent domestically because it's not the one saber-rattling for a conflict. When it comes to peripheral nations, the west mostly just says to them "do what we tell you to or else" and China mostly just says "hey, whatever, let's just do some trading."

The problem that the western propagandists have is that they’ve generally gotten really bad at it.

Well, in a way. You're right that all they seem to know to do is ratchet up the sanctions, but their method of propaganda is sheer saturation. Make sure that every mainstream media outlet is on board with the anti-China propaganda and steer all major social media such that "China Bad!" appears to be a unanimous consensus, and job done. And it works extremely well. The state propaganda doesn't need to be very sophisticated itself at this point because the consent-manufacturing machine has been built, maintained, and well-oiled for a long time already.

To quote Dr Lubinda Haabazoka

That is a great quote and really does sum up the comparison of how the west and China each approach international relations with would-be economic partners. It's a good demonstration for why any propaganda battle between the west and China for the approval of the rest of the world would necessarily be so one-sided. One of them has to lie and endlessly make up excuses for their actions and behavior (bullying and swindling) while the other can just calmly gesture towards their actions and behavior (equal exchange and genuine support).

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I’d say we’re already there even though it is largely one-sided

When you're in the belly of the beast, it's easy to miss what's going on outside. I don't think it's one sided, by any stretch.

The state propaganda doesn’t need to be very sophisticated itself at this point because the consent-manufacturing machine has been built, maintained, and well-oiled for a long time already.

The post WW2 Peace Dividend has largely played itself out, though. Our voracious appetite for extraction is costing us open ears internationally.

Like, nobody in Saudi Arabia or Turkey or Israel or even Ukraine really takes the US propaganda seriously. They've got their own internal propaganda that is far more compelling, and it's often diametrically opposed to the liberal democratic line.

One of them has to lie and endlessly make up excuses for their actions and behavior (bullying and swindling) while the other can just calmly gesture towards their actions and behavior (equal exchange and genuine support).

I think it is a mistake to think Chinese businessmen and bureaucrats are simply beyond bullying and swindling. But they don't have the luxury of the world's biggest military to swing around, nor do they have this ever-growing arsenal of privately developed weapons that they're eager to exhaust and replenish.

The incentives of a communist country are fundamentally different from a capitalist state. This allows Chinese diplomats to exercise techniques that NATO states do not have the political tool bag to deploy.

[–] MaeBorowski@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 months ago

When you’re in the belly of the beast, it’s easy to miss what’s going on outside. I don’t think it’s one sided, by any stretch.

It's true. my perspective is unavoidably limited by being in an imperial core country, but is there any evidence for how China is conducting a propaganda war against the US (or at all) anywhere near the same volume or scale that the US is against China?

Like, nobody in Saudi Arabia or Turkey or Israel or even Ukraine really takes the US propaganda seriously. They’ve got their own internal propaganda that is far more compelling, and it’s often diametrically opposed to the liberal democratic line.

Yeah, I agree. But that's what I was getting a about the western propaganda being mostly designed for their respective domestic populations, it's not produced for the sake of the common folk of non-western countries. Is the US even attempting to make propaganda directed at the populations of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, or Ukraine? They don't need to, since for the most part, those who rule in those countries are in alignment with US interests anyway. The liberal democratic line exists (once again) for the population within the core countries themselves. Like, the US doesn't give a single shit that Saudi Arabia is a theocratic monarchy. Ukraine? Vassals of NATO, of course their internal propaganda is in line with the US. They would never even think of siding with China over the US and despise China anyway for not siding against Russia. Israel can't exist without the will and favor of the US, they are a massive military outpost for the west in the middle east and are autonomous only so far as they are willing to be more openly fascist in how they go about doing what the US wants them to do anyway, the US in no way needs to produce propaganda to influence them. Turkey does at least have some differing interests than the US, but they're still a NATO country and so far haven't had the reason or will to rock the boat in a way that is pro-China and anti-US.

I think it is a mistake to think Chinese businessmen and bureaucrats are simply beyond bullying and swindling.

Oh believe me, that's not a mistake I'm making. But as has been said many times, business interests (owners of private capital) in China are on a leash held by the state, in the west it's the other way around. I don't doubt that Chinese capitalists would swindle just as much as any other capitalists, but they aren't the ones calling the shots, the CPC is. And the CPC has repeatedly demonstrated that they only want to do fair, equal exchange, mutually beneficial economics with other countries. They don't need a massive propaganda machine to convince their trading partners that this is their agenda since their actions over the last couple decades are convincing enough, hence the quote you posted: "Every time China visits we get a hospital, every time Britain visits we get a lecture."

The incentives of a communist country are fundamentally different from a capitalist state.

Absolutely.

This allows Chinese diplomats to exercise techniques that NATO states do not have the political tool bag to deploy.

I guess I'm not sure what you're getting at here. Techniques like equal exchange?

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago

Every time the US visits they blow up the hospital