Global Times

The Global Times () is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship "People's Daily" newspaper, commenting on international issues from a nationalistic perspective. The newspaper has been the source of various incidents, including fabrications and disinformation.
The publication has been labelled as "China's Fox News" by some liberal scholars and writers for its propagandistic slant and the monetization of nationalism. It is part of a broader set of Chinese state media outlets that constitute the Chinese government's propaganda apparatus. The "Global Times" has published COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories.
History.
Established as a Chinese-language weekly publication in 1993, an English-language version was launched on 20 April 2009 as part of a Chinese government campaign to compete with overseas media.
In 2009, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of both Chinese and English versions, stated that he expected it to make a loss of 20 million yuan in its first year as an English-language publication. As of 2016, Hu said the "Global Times" was profitable but faced difficulties that would be familiar to other newspaper editors.
The English-language version of the newspaper also has launched two local sections, "Metro Beijing" since September 2009 and "Metro Shanghai" since April 2010, in the two largest Chinese metropolises, in an effort to provide more information to local readers. The "Global Times" launched its US edition in 2013.
Editorial stance.
The Chinese-language version has been known to have a pro-Chinese Communist Party slant, attracting a nationalistic readership since its inception in 1993. When launched in 2009, its editors claimed that the "Global Times"' English-language version took a less nationalistic stance than its Chinese-language counterpart. The "Global Times"' editorial stance has been viewed as channeling the views of the hardline faction of top leadership. Some scholars have noted that "Global Times"' more nationalistic stance permits other official state-run media to appear more moderate in tone.
In 2016, it was reported that the English-language edition then had approximately 20 "foreign experts" who were involved with assigning stories and copyediting, "as long as the coverage [wa]s not about politics".
Australia.
"The Global Times" has referred to Australia as a "paper cat" in relation to the South China Sea, and a former "offshore prison" in relation to an Olympic swimmer being identified as a former drug cheat (in reference to the country's former status as a British penal colony).
Hong Kong.
In May 2016, the "Global Times" ran a boycott campaign denigrating Hong Kong pro-democracy singer Denise Ho for allegedly advocating independence for Hong Kong and Tibet. On 5 June, Lancôme cancelled a promotional concert by the Cantopop star that was scheduled to be held on 19 June in Sheung Wan. Lancôme also added, in a Facebook post, that Ho was not a spokesperson for the brand. The Tibet allegation appeared to have stemmed from Ho's May 2016 meeting with the Dalai Lama. The cancellation drew a heavy backlash in Hong Kong. Some Lancôme shops in Hong Kong were shut down during the protests. Listerine, another brand that Ho represents, retained the singer despite the fact that the "Global Times" also criticized that company hiring Ho as its public face in Hong Kong.
Incidents.
COVID-19 disinformation.
"The Global Times" has spread unfounded conspiracy theories and disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has distributed disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic via Facebook posts and targeted ads. In January 2021, the "Global Times" urged Australia not to use the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Astroturfing allegations.
According to Richard Burger, a former editor at "Global Times", in the wake of the 2011 arrest of Ai Weiwei, the Chinese staff of the "Global Times" were ordered to conduct an "astroturfing" campaign against Ai Weiwei in favour of the Chinese Communist Party's criticism of Ai as a "maverick".
Fabricated quotes.
In October 2015, Roderick MacFarquhar, a China expert at Harvard University, spoke at a conference on Marxism in Beijing. He said that Chinese leader Xi Jinpings talk of the so-called Chinese Dream was "not the intellectually coherent, robust and wide-ranging philosophy needed to stand up to Western ideas." The "Global Times" reported his speech as saying that the "Chinese Dream" would "make great contributions and exert a positive impact on human development." MacFarquhar said that the paraphrasing was a "total fabrication". The line was later removed by the newspaper from its story.
Reaction.
In China.
In May 2016, the "Global Times" was criticized domestically by the Cyberspace Administration of China that it was "fabricating" news on the US, the South China Sea, North Korea, and Hong Kong, and "disturbing" the order of the cyberspace.
In India.
In September 2020, India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying that comments made by the "Global Times" were falsely attributed to Ajit Doval.
In Singapore.
In September 2016, the "Global Times" published an article, titled "Singapore's Delusional Reference to the South China Sea Arbitration During the Non-Aligned Movement Summit". Stanley Loh Ka Leung, then Singapore's ambassador to China, criticized the article to be fake news. Loh also asked the "Global Times" to publish in full, in both English and Chinese, a letter he wrote to the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Hu Xijin. Hu refuted the ambassador by saying that the "Global Times" reports were reliable and based on information from people who attended the meeting, without publishing the letter that Loh had requested to be published.
In the United States.
In June 2020, the United States Department of State designated "Global Times" as a foreign mission.
Xinjiang.
In 2019, "Global Times" was criticized for perceived bias in its coverage and portrayal of Uyghurs and of alleged disinformation campaigns regarding Xinjiang internment camps, which led Twitter to ban it and other state-sponsored media outlets from ad purchases.