China says it will not allow the broadcast of BBC World News in Chinese to the mainland after the broadcaster supposedly did “a slew of falsified reporting on issues including Xinjiang and China’s handling of Covid 19″ to “send a clear signal that fake news is not tolerated in China.” Nothing to do with the Chinese Communist Party controlled CGTN losing their licence in the UK last week.

On balance Guido thinks the open societies of the West can better withstand state-backed propaganda than closed one-party states. It is not a sign of strength to block their propaganda broadcasts. Confident societies don’t need to ban foreign propaganda…