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HEADLINES & HASHTAGS

We follow the stories, conversations and broader developments shaping the Chinese media environment as they emerge, offering an inside look at a dynamic but challenging space.

HEADLINES AND HASHTAGS

Latest | Headlines & Hashtags

How China’s Press Abandoned Its Readers

Apr 15, 2026 | David Bandurski | censorship, china, death of newspaper, guidance of public opinion, journalism, media, newspapers, press censorship, Xi Jinping

A WeChat post arguing that China’s dying newspapers did not just lose readers — they abandoned them first — was swiftly censored for violating “relevant laws.”

No Foundation for the PLA

Apr 3, 2026 | David Bandurski

An official Chinese military social media account finds fault with a popular costume drama and the flawless face of its battle-ready star — and in doing so, drops the mask on an image crisis.

AI for Human Propaganda

Apr 1, 2026 | David Bandurski

While journalism cultures around the world grapple seriously with the impact of AI, China’s closed and repressive media system can only celebrate the trend as a technological boost for the storytelling of the state.

From the Archive

The Great Broadcasting Retreat

Mar 12, 2026 | Dalia Parete

China is shutting down hundreds of local TV and radio channels — and rebuilding its propaganda apparatus online.

A Prize Against the Odds

Mar 2, 2026 | David Bandurski

China’s independent “Pulitzer” returns — honoring journalists at both grassroots and state-run outlets who pursue accountability reporting despite enormous personal risk.

Projecting Light in the Shadows

Feb 25, 2026 | Qichang Yan

The shuttering of New York’s IndieChina film festival sent ripples through the independent screening ecosystem for Chinese films globally. Meet the volunteers keeping the spirit of independent film alive.

Chinese Surveillance Gets the AI Treatment

Feb 24, 2026 | Alex Colville

A series of patents filed the past two years indicates that institutions across China are working out how to use AI to improve grassroots surveillance

Happy New Year, Potter

Feb 5, 2026 | Dalia Parete

Draco Malfoy becomes China’s Lunar New Year mascot as his name’s perfect translation sparks a viral decoration trend.

The Silenced Profession

Feb 3, 2026 | Yu Tian

The recent detention by local police in Chengdu of investigative journalist Liu Hu underscores the most extreme dangers facing Chinese journalists. In this report for Tian Jian, freelancer Tian Yu explores the pressures confronting reporters at every level—from on-site obstruction and disappeared articles to institutional review mechanisms, inform…

Shanghai’s Last Newsstand

Jan 16, 2026 | Dalia Parete

As China pushes a national reading initiative and AI reshapes information, one Shanghai shop offering 1,000 publications represents a vanishing era of relative editorial variety.

Are You Dead Yet?

Jan 13, 2026 | Dalia Parete

A bluntly branded daily check-in app sparks debate over sensitivities around death in China while grappling with the country’s growing crisis of solo-living and related safety concerns.

Paper Cuts

Jan 7, 2026 | Dalia Parete

The closure of dozens more newspapers signals the final fizzling of China’s once-vibrant metropolitan print media sector at the outset in 2026.

Can China Be Trusted to Lead on AI Safety?

Dec 18, 2025 | Alex Colville

While the country presents itself as a leader in AI safety, a closer look suggests its governance priorities may not always align with international concerns — raising questions about who should shape the emerging global AI order.

China’s Invisible Journalists

Dec 16, 2025 | Xiao Bing

They make foreign reporting in China possible yet work without bylines or legal protection. For news assistants — also known as “fixers” — every story can carry professional risk and personal cost.

AI Cop Signals VPN Crackdown

Nov 13, 2025 | David Bandurski

China’s AI-generated police spokesman returned this week with warnings to all Chinese that circumventing the Great Firewall threatens personal safety and national security — and will be punished.

Beyond Blue and White

Nov 10, 2025 | David Bandurski

Former Global Times editor Hu Xijin warns that official notices are replacing journalism, undermining China’s ability to communicate effectively during crises.

Hubei Hit-and-Run Escapes the Headlines

Oct 29, 2025 | Alex Colville

When a car struck schoolchildren in Hubei, authorities silenced the story for three days as a key political meeting was underway in Beijing. The blackout reveals how China’s information controls have intensified — and how citizens are struggling to break through.

Beijing Frames the Trump Visit

Oct 28, 2025 | David Bandurski

Two pseudonymous commentaries in yesterday’s People’s Daily — and a media event earlier this month in South Korea — reveal China’s systematic approach to shaping elite opinion ahead of the Xi-Trump meeting in Seoul.

Agent 012339 Reports for Duty

Oct 20, 2025 | CMP Staff

China’s Ministry of State Security deploys an AI anchor in full uniform to deliver national security warnings on social media.

The Malice Police

Sep 26, 2025 | David Bandurski

China’s latest internet special actions, a campaign against “negative emotions,” lifts the lid on the country’s obsessive and capricious control culture.

How AI Deals with Dark Thoughts

Sep 11, 2025 | Alex Colville

While China invites criticism for AI values that prioritize political controls, it’s hard to deny that Chinese-made chatbots outperform on suicide prevention safeguards. We tested a few models for context.

Hard Times for the Face of the “Wolf Warrior”

Sep 5, 2025 | Alex Colville

Film star Wu Jing is well-known as the rough, tough face of China’s “Wolf Warrior” spirit. So what does it mean if Chinese netizens see his ridiculous side—especially during a week when Beijing staged a massive military parade to showcase the nation’s muscularity?

Summer Break, Power Intact

Aug 29, 2025 | Alex Colville

The surge of headlines for Xi Jinping during his recent visit to Tibet, coming shortly after the annual lull of the official Beidaihe vacation period, was another sign that the Chinese leader continues to dominate.

After the Flood

Aug 11, 2025 | David Bandurski

The tragic death of 31 people in a care home near Beijing during floods last month was given a textbook makeover to preserve the Party’s image. But there were also signs of life under the icy surface of Chinese journalism.

Misreading the News About Nvidia

Aug 5, 2025 | David Bandurski

Media outlets worldwide reported that China’s official People’s Daily newspaper slammed the chipmaker. But there are important complications to this oversimplified take.

Smashing the News

Jul 28, 2025 | David Bandurski

After a company boss destroyed a journalist’s camera earlier this month, state media rushed to the defense, sounding off about the “right to report.” This moral signaling distracts from the systemic violence against journalism that is the real policy of the state.

Toxic Backlash

Jul 22, 2025 | David Bandurski

The expulsion of a Chinese student for appearing in videos posted online by Ukrainian gamer videos sparks a debate about sexism — and shameless exploitation amid the discussion.

Flooding in Hunan Drowned Out

Jun 26, 2025 | Alex Colville

While the Iran crisis has dominated Chinese social media, record floods displacing 400,000 people in Hunan province have struggled for public attention.

A Media Corruption Case in Shanghai

Jun 23, 2025 | David Bandurski

Local police allege that a WeChat account extorted hundreds of thousands of yuan from companies — revealing how corruption persists in China’s tightly controlled information landscape.

A Trump Card for China’s Media

Jun 16, 2025 | Alex Colville

The authoritarian actions of the Trump administration have added jet fuel to one of the Chinese Communist Party’s most enduring external propaganda frames — that the United States is fundamentally hypocritical when it comes to rights and freedoms.

A Big Test for AI in China

Jun 2, 2025 | David Bandurski

The authorities are coming down hard on AI scams targeting desperate families ahead of high-stakes college entrance exams.

A Taiwan Slip on Chinese Television

May 23, 2025 | David Bandurski

An anchor on state television this week referred to Taiwan and China as separate countries during live newscast. The authorities scrambled to contain the story.

AI Joins China’s Primary Schools

May 19, 2025 | Alex Colville

The Ministry of Education has laid out exactly how AI will be taught and used by schoolchildren. Hopes and fears about AI and critical thinking are entirely missing the point.

Redacting History

May 19, 2025 | Alex Colville

An old video surfaced last week to commemorate a devastating quake nearly 20 years ago. But key portions of the original were conspicuously absent — a reminder that in China, the past is always dangerously present.

Plucking China’s “Peach Networks”

May 13, 2025 | Dalia Parete

A state television exposé last month claimed to unmask exploitative dating apps, but it also exposed how cyclical media campaigns serve official narratives in China’s tightly controlled information landscape.

Respect for the Hero

Apr 30, 2025 | David Bandurski

A young auxiliary officer in Xinjiang grips hearts across China with a daring rescue, but her act of courage unveils deeper questions about worker equity and state response to public questioning.

China’s AI Job Mirage

Apr 30, 2025 | Alex Colville

State media portrays artificial intelligence as a near-magical solution to the country’s youth employment challenges, but interviews with actual job seekers reveal a more complicated picture.

Bringing AI Down to Earth

Apr 21, 2025 | Alex Colville

Are Chinese media exaggerating the elevated state of the country’s AI technology? A senior scientist says yes—and warns that hype is blinding China to looming challenges.

AI Moves to Page One

Apr 18, 2025 | David Bandurski

One of China’s most celebrated metro commercial newspapers embraces artificial intelligence for front-page design, signaling deeper digital disruption in a newspaper industry facing tough times.

Deadly Blunders in Bangkok

Apr 2, 2025 | Alex Colville

When a skyscraper built by a Chinese state company was the only to collapse in during the recent earthquake, China’s first response was not rescue — it was information lockdown.

War Games

Apr 1, 2025 | David Bandurski

Beijing conjures ancient magic to transform military threats into mythical adventures — but Taiwan sees nothing supernatural about the missiles pointed at its shores.

A River Crisis Prompts Rare Coverage

Mar 24, 2025 | David Bandurski

Chinese media outlets have taken the unusual step of more openly covering a toxic thallium contamination in Hunan’s Leishuei River, exposing a crisis kept under wraps for a full week.

New Messages from China’s Ancient Capital

Mar 21, 2025 | David Bandurski

China’s latest international communication center, or ICC, has been founded in Luoyang, a cradle of Chinese civilization, as part of growing efforts to enhance the country’s global media presence under the guidance of the state.

Shrinking Humanities for AI

Mar 19, 2025 | Alex Colville

As China makes a national push toward technology-driven ‘new productive forces,’ Shanghai’s prestigious Fudan University pivots from humanities to artificial intelligence. Is this the right move?

Blackmail Blogging

Mar 18, 2025 | David Bandurski

The sentencing of an online influencer for “news extortion” in China reveals a shadowy world in which media have the power to put a price tag on silence.

Ancient Outpost Seeks a New Voice

Mar 5, 2025 | David Bandurski

Guyuan becomes the latest local hub in China’s vertically integrated propaganda network, joining forces with a state media outlet to amplify Beijing’s voice abroad.

Prato Gets Wenzhou Media Liaison Office

Feb 14, 2025 | David Bandurski

China’s network of ICCs — local centers meant to revolutionize its state-led global communication — is growing both at home and overseas.

When Does Xi Get a Byline?

Feb 13, 2025 | Alex Colville

Bylined appearances by the country’s top leader in the flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party offer a window into the messaging priorities of the leadership.

A Paint-by-Numbers Push for Influence

Feb 11, 2025 | David Bandurski

A district-level hub in Fujian province becomes the latest in a nationwide effort to revolutionize China’s global influence. It underscores the huge gap between Xi Jinping’s grand ambitions and local grandstanding.

The Screws Tighten on Military Content

Feb 10, 2025 | David Bandurski

Under new rules from the country’s top internet control body and nine other departments, social media accounts covering the PLA and defense topics must now display special markers and undergo strict identity checks.

A Rude Awakening

Feb 6, 2025 | Dalia Parete

This month, a viral video of a staged blind date intrusion sparked outrage on Chinese social media, becoming a cautionary tale about the dangers of fakery for entertainment.

Over-Dramatizing the Harm of Self-Media

Feb 5, 2025 | Alex Colville

A sketch during this year’s Spring Festival Gala on China Central Television attacked “self-media,” showing how social posts distort the truth. But the state-run network’s portrayal of independent content creators as purely harmful is itself an exaggeration and oversimplification.

The Slow Close of an Era

Feb 4, 2025 | David Bandurski

This year dawned with the closure of another batch of print newspapers in China. The relentless death of print continues in the country — mirroring a global trend.

Uncovering the Scam Industry

Feb 3, 2025 | Positive Connections

Through on-the-ground reporting, independent journalist Wu Qin offers rare insight into the cyber scam compounds along the Thailand-Myanmar border — questioning prevailing Chinese public opinion that scapegoats Southeast Asian countries.

A Golden Friendship

Jan 23, 2025 | Dalia Parete

A forum in Bangkok this month underscored China’s ambition to work with local partners in Southeast Asia to impact public opinion there. A closer look at one of the propaganda vehicles meant to accomplish this goal suggests carelessness reigns down below such high-level exchanges.

China’s Fastest-Growing App

Jan 22, 2025 | Alex Colville

With all eyes on TikTok’s trials and tribulations in the US, the fact that its parent company, ByteDance, has a white-hot new app back in China is easy to overlook. China’s regulators haven’t.

American Refugees

Jan 16, 2025 | David Bandurski

As TikTok users seek asylum on China’s RedNote, and glee ensues from commentators in the world’s most restricted internet environment, the lines of repression in the promised land are quickly revealing themselves.

A Proposal for AI-Powered Censorship

Jan 14, 2025 | David Bandurski

A delegate to Shanghai’s annual political meeting has submitted a proposal for using AI to better control social media content.

Cutting Micro-Dramas Down to Size

Jan 9, 2025 | Alex Colville

China’s government has signaled stricter rules this year for micro-dramas, a bite-size entertainment format with mega market potential.

Catching Predators in the County Government

Nov 14, 2024 | Dalia Parete

Coverage in China this month of the rape of a 13-year-old girl, a case involving local officials, has drawn the focus to shortcomings in sexual assault protections as well as government corruption.

Hangzhou’s Tower of Influence

Nov 13, 2024 | Ryan Ho Kilpatrick

In a fascinating feature story this week, Shanghai’s The Paper took a look at an apartment building in Zhejiang province’s capital city that has a reputation for hosting more than its fair share of online influencers.

Commending a Compliant Press

Nov 12, 2024 | David Bandurski

Unlike international holidays to celebrate freedom of speech and affirm the crucial role of journalists in open societies, China’s annual Journalist’s Day rewards — and commands — obedience.

Hu Xijin Quietly Returns

Nov 8, 2024 | Alex Colville

One of China’s most patriotic and combative online commentators went silent back in July, when he apparently stepped over the line in commenting on a decision from the leadership. He is back, though not yet with much to say.

Harris in the Fissures of Online Hate

Nov 5, 2024 | Initium Media

For many Chinese Americans, vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris is an inspirational figure, the perfect daughter of an immigrant family. But in the spaces frequented by Mandarin-speaking audiences on X, WeChat and Douyin, she has faced a torrent of racism and hate.

For State Media, Copycats are No Joke

Oct 21, 2024 | Alex Colville

The recent case of a counterfeit article erroneously sourced to the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party has the authorities crying foul. But the real culprit is their claim to a monopoly on the truth.

Divorcing China from Wedding Humiliation

Oct 18, 2024 | Dalia Parete

After a recent, egregious incident of “wedding hazing” went viral in China, the controversial tradition has been pushed back into the media spotlight. Outlets nationwide are joining the charge to end this “evil custom.”

Making Deepfakes With Chinese AI

Oct 16, 2024 | Alex Colville

Chinese AI tools are getting more sophisticated, and concerns are rising they will be used to interfere with democracies. So how easy is it to create deepfakes on the Chinese internet?

Married to the Motherland

Oct 4, 2024 | Dalia Parete

The idea of 5,000 couples tying the knot at once in a state-planned ceremony may not sound romantic — but China’s leadership is in love with the idea of encouraging traditional marriage.

Goodness Me

Sep 19, 2024 | David Bandurski

Good Me, one of China’s largest tea store chains, had a hard lesson in public relations this week after internet users decided its punchline video about workplace discipline was not funny, not at all.

Married Out

Sep 12, 2024 | Dalia Parete

The New York Times recently became the latest international news outlet to cover the issue of the rights of female villagers in China. The issue has quietly brewed in China’s domestic media for years — without serious action.

Farewell, Microblog

Sep 5, 2024 | Alex Colville

In Xi’s “New Era” signs now point to the untimely end of the Weibo Era. Is it possible any longer to build a platform strategy around recognized public intellectuals?

China’s AI Hallucination Challenge

Aug 27, 2024 | Alex Colville

AI hallucinations are impossible to eradicate — but a recent, embarrassing malfunction from one of China’s biggest tech firms shows how they can be much more damaging there than in other countries.

A Midwesterner in Foshan

Aug 15, 2024 | Initium Media

US vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, a former Cantonese learner who was popular with his Chinese students, is affectionate toward China — but he is no “dove” on human rights, Hong Kong, and Tibet issues.

China’s AI Hype Gets a Reality Check

Aug 7, 2024 | Alex Colville

Chinese AI is moving at a fast pace, but it’s important not to give in to hype about exactly what the technology can do — a point state media are now making themselves.

When Meloni Met Xi

Aug 2, 2024 | Dalia Parete

Chinese media coverage of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s recent visit to China has been characterized by a blend of criticism and optimism, strategic framing, and an emphasis on historical ties.

When Worlds Collide

Jul 12, 2024 | Alex Colville

State media have released a short, AI-generated series on Douyin. It’s the meeting point of several tools the Party has been using to modernize media and propaganda.

A Rare Exposé

Jul 10, 2024 | David Bandurski

In an investigative report splashed across the front page last week, a Beijing newspaper exposed lax food safety practices. It was just like old times.

China Starts Influence Ranking for Cities

Jul 4, 2024 | David Bandurski

The country’s external propaganda efforts have increasingly leaned on localities, mobilizing and pooling resources. Now the government will measure how they are performing.

The Politics of Pure Business

Jul 3, 2024 | David Bandurski

As Western media groups talk of “purely commercial” cooperation, China’s official Xinhua News Agency regards its partnerships as part of China’s broader effort to shape global discourse and promote its government image. It’s time for professional media groups to wake up.

China Grapples with Nationalism, and Fuels It

Jul 2, 2024 | Alex Colville

A flurry of statements from Chinese social media platforms in the wake of a tragic attack on a Japanese woman and her child in Suzhou pledge to clear up rabid nationalism online. Meanwhile, Chinese state media continue to pour fuel on the fire of anti-Japanese sentiment.

MAGA Communism and the China Grift

Jul 2, 2024 | Jordyn Haime

Riding American frustrations with foreign wars, can “MAGA Communism” advocate Jackson Hinkle help China gain sympathy in the US?

A Media Labyrinth in the Middle East

Jun 25, 2024 | Bertie Lyhne-Gold

An oddly compliant question from the foreign press corps on the sidelines of this year’s National People’s Congress kicked up a simple question: Who is China-Arab TV? We followed the question down the rabbit hole.

Top Propaganda Official Faces Investigation

Jun 23, 2024 | David Bandurski

The sudden announcement Friday of a corruption probe against Zhang Jianchun marks just the second case in the Xi Jinping era of a senior propaganda official falling from grace.

Goldfish Memories

May 27, 2024 | David Bandurski

In a post to China’s popular WeChat platform last week, one writer bemoaned the shocking loss of nearly a full decade of information from the early days of the country’s domestic internet. Within hours the writer’s reflections had vanished too.

Riding into the Uncanny Valley

May 21, 2024 | Alex Colville

Military mouthpieces have joined Chinese state media in experimenting with AI anchors. But how effective will these digital propagandists be in the fight for hearts and minds?

Shades of Yellow

Apr 24, 2024 | David Bandurski

In its latest two-month campaign against public accounts on domestic social media platforms, China’s cyberspace control body is targeting falsehood and sensationalism. The ugly truth is that the country’s state-run media, which are not to be touched by the purge, are some of the worst culprits.

Fingertip Formalism

Apr 18, 2024 | David Bandurski

In recent years, China’s leadership has pushed innovation at the intersection of tech and governance. But mobile-based solutions have created a new problem — how to get officials off their phones.

The Flip Side of Influence

Apr 17, 2024 | Alex Colville

For foreign influencers, China’s massive and potentially lucrative market is a huge draw. But national sensitivities are also a very real pitfall — as one influencer has learned this month.

Who is Seeing the Real America?

Apr 15, 2024 | Initium Media

“Zero-dollar shopping” videos depicting America as a lawless hellscape where woke politics mean criminals now go unpunished have been going viral for years within China and on Chinese-language social media abroad. What lies behind this strange trend?

Pleas and Appeals

Mar 22, 2024 | Alex Colville

After it went viral in China this month, video footage of a woman wailing before the altar of Bao Qingtian, an 11th-century official who has become a popular symbol of justice, drove a debate online about the difficulties of seeking recourse for official wrongs.

When the ByteDance CEO Groveled

Mar 20, 2024 | David Bandurski

With a US Senate debate on TikTok and its national security implications on the horizon, some media have asked what signs there are that the app’s parent company, ByteDance, is under the thumb of China’s leadership. An abject politically-laden apology six years ago by the company’s CEO cuts right through the questions.

The Ugly Politics of Media Obstruction

Mar 14, 2024 | David Bandurski

The harassment of state media reporters during a live report from the scene of a deadly explosion yesterday has angered some as an unacceptable act of interference. A closer look reveals a more disquieting truth — that such acts of obstruction are not an exception but the very nature of media policy in China.

Mo Yan Against the Martyrs

Mar 11, 2024 | Alex Colville

A spat about the red credentials of one of China’s most celebrated writers has been blown out of proportion on the Chinese internet, thanks to harsher nationalist laws and an increasingly rabid cancel culture.