Fact-Checking as a Tool of Persuasion: Analyzing China’s Official and Unofficial Rhetoric about the War in Ukraine

• In Event: Crisis, Disinformation and Authoritarian Narratives in Russia and China

Abstract

Over the course of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s high-ranking officials proclaimed neutrality and support for peaceful solutions. Our analysis of China’s state media coverage of the war, however, reveals the presence of a consistent bias toward Russia. Our study, drawing on reporting by China’s core national outlets in both Chinese and English, including Xinhua News, CCTV’s Xinwen Lianbo, and CGTN, uncovers a multifaceted pro-Russia tilt. Specifically, we find that Chinese media frame the West as the core responsible actor behind this conflict, deflate Russia’s aggression and war crimes, highlight Russia’s resilience vis-à-vis the West, and downplay Ukraine’s successes on the battlefield. Rhetorically, pro-Russia leanings are communicated by drawing disproportionately on Russian sources, obfuscating footage from Ukraine, and using indirect language in referring to Russia-caused casualties. We further find that the global Chinese outlets, like CGTN, are more inclusive of Ukraine’s perspective, and critiques of Russia than domestic Chinese outlets. We attribute it to the reputational concerns of CGTN.

Authors

• Maria Repnikova, Georgia State University

• Wendy Weile Zhou, Georgia State University