Jalil Afridi
Washington DC: Coordinator for Global Engagement Centre of US State Department, James P. Rubin while speaking to the journalists at US State Department stated that there are reports that China is trying to control the entire Pakistani information space by building a censorship operation so they can monitor the whole information space and make adjustments and changes according to their wishes and desires.
The Global Engagement Centre yesterday released a report according to which Chinese Foreign Ministry tries to control the content of independent journalists around the world and manipulate the content according to Chinese strategies.
James further stated that China is spending billion of dollars to create an eco system where China can project the content it wants the world to see and that this strategy of China has now become a national security threat. James did agree that the US needs to spend more money while countering China false narratives.
“China wants to poison the information space and this is a dark side of globalization” James added. He also said that there is a difference between fact and fiction and every country has the right to speak and suppressing the truth and trying to create digital authoritarianism by China will be not be accepted the United States and it’s allies.
James Rubin while replying to another question said that freedom of press is very dear to America and it is essential for younger democracies around the world to allow freedom of press so that leaders in those countries can learn from constructive criticism by independent journalists.
James Rubin did agree that China’s false narratives are not as bad as the Russian narratives but James did agree that dominance in information war has become an “undeclared war” among countries around the world.
