The odious right-wing influencer Ian Miles Cheong recently posted a video of a man being brutalized by an unseen tormenter which he captioned “Chinese communism”, adding “I don’t know who needs to hear this but this is what real oppression looks like, not cops in Portland pepper spraying rioters for throwing molotovs at them.”
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1291463623101956096
There’s nothing in the video footage that shows that this is happening in China, nor that the person performing the abuse is a government authority figure. But many people credulously shared the video around, because anti-China sentiment has exploded over the last two years with the help of careful narrative management by the western political/media class.
"73 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable view of China, up from 47 percent just two years ago"
Propaganda works
— Louis Allday (@Louis_Allday) August 3, 2020
This video footage re-emerges periodically, like last year when it was shared by virulent China critic Arslan Hidayat, who claimed the footage showed the Chinese government’s persecution of a Uyghur Muslim.
“DISCLAIMER: Disturbing Video. Chinese policy when interrogating #Uyghur #Muslims is Beat and Tase first then interview the suspect. #SaveUyghur #CloseTheCamps,” reads Hidayat’s caption.
Except it’s not from China, and the man being tormented is not a Uyghur Muslim.
Arslan spreading fake #Uyghur videos again. He forgot to remove the FB ID 刘宏罩 from top left corner.
This is not China! https://t.co/6qsmq1j6Z9 pic.twitter.com/EuL7tB7tl2
— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) October 19, 2019
It turns out it’s very easy to get people to believe they are viewing irrefutable evidence of Chinese abuses. All you have to do is show them video footage of one thing and tell them it’s something else, and as long as they’re already predisposed toward believing anti-China narratives, they’ll believe you.
Over the last few weeks I’ve seen three different verifiably fake videos depicting “Chinese” abuses which people have been frantically spamming around eager to show evidence of Beijing’s malfeasance, just in my own personal meanderings through social media.
Like this one:
https://twitter.com/MaajidNawaz/status/1284585213650186240
After this wildly viral video surfaced, my Twitter mentions were saturated with brainwashed Chinagaters tagging me insisting that I retract my position of rigorous skepticism toward western narratives about what’s happening in Xinjiang. They were certain they finally had me. There it is, video evidence as plain as day. Who could deny such a thing?
Only problem? That’s not Xinjiang, and those aren’t Uyghur Muslims.
https://twitter.com/Garou_Hidalgo/status/1285994495239245831
My favorite was this one shared by the account “Uyghur Genocide” on Twitter, captioned “#China has been keeping a world record in techniques to torture prisoners & detainees, such as those 5+ million #Uyghur adults and children currently being held in China’s #ConcentrationCamps, prisons & slave-labor factories. This is one:”
https://twitter.com/auighur/status/1272360467479085056
Except in reality it is not one. That’s not China, and that’s not a Uyghur Muslim. It’s a BDSM fetish video from Taiwan, those are consenting adults at a private location, and the allegation has long been discredited.
The following are screenshots from a machine translation of a fact check piece from a Taiwanese website:
Obviously none of this in and of itself proves that Uyghur Muslims aren’t being mistreated in Xinjiang. What it proves is that there’s a lot of disinfo about what’s happening in Xinjiang, and that there’s a very large market of herd-minded dupes who are eager to swallow that disinfo with zero critical gag reflex.
Western power structures have a very extensive and extremely well-documented history of lying about just this sort of thing, so there’s no excuse for credulously believing what you’re told about any US-targeted government absent mountains of hard proof.
Refusing to believe western narratives put out against US-targeted governments doesn’t mean you automatically believe the opposite of those narratives or believe any Chinese narratives, it just means you remain agnostic until presented with proof that rises to the level required in a post-Iraq invasion world.
There’s a lot of geostrategic ambition riding on Xinjiang, since it plays a pivotal role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative which will upset unipolar US planetary dominance unless thwarted. Which of course means the west has a vested interest in disrupting China’s goals in that region, since US hegemony depends on keeping other nations down. Propaganda is being used to facilitate that agenda.
Ultimately this is all a part of the slow-motion third world war between the US-centralized power alliance and nations like China which have refused to be absorbed into that alliance. This slow-motion third world war is largely facilitated by dominance of international mainstream narratives about unabsorbed nations.
I Don’t Always Believe CIA Narratives. But When I Do, I Believe Them About China.
"China is such a curious anomaly in the narrative matrix. Many who are normally skeptical of claims by western governments immediately swallow anything said about China."https://t.co/1EtQOPOFee
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) July 22, 2020
The above videos are a good illustration of the power of narrative. People believe they’re seeing undeniable video footage of an atrocity being perpetrated by a specific government, solely because the bit of text over the video told them that’s what they’re seeing. They literally see what they’re told to see. The narrative overrides the actual raw data that they are taking in with their own eyes.
The only sane response to a situation that is swamped with propaganda and disinformation is to hold tight to skepticism and agnosticism until presented with hard proof. Get comfortable with not knowing, and don’t forget that the power structures presenting you with these narratives have lied to you in the past.
Stay skeptical. Stay critical. Demand hard, verifiable proof about any claim about any US-targeted nation, and if it isn’t given to you, don’t swallow it. This is how you keep your head clear of the propaganda.
_______________________
Thanks for reading! The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, throwing some money into my tip jar on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of my sweet merchandise, buying my books Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone and Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, click here. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge.
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76 responses to “Viral Fake Footage Of “Chinese” Atrocities Shows The Power Of Narrative Spin”
“It turns out it’s very easy to get people to believe they are viewing irrefutable evidence of Chinese abuses. All you have to do is show them video footage of one thing and tell them it’s something else, and as long as they’re already predisposed toward believing anti-China narratives, they’ll believe you.”
My comment on this was quickly removed. I apologize to those who will never see it, as I support our common right to free speech, which is essential to ensuring that Caitlin’s voice is not silenced. My voice, and maybe even yours, are evidently not allowed the same consideration. How disappointing.
I will not allow my site to turn into another cesspool for Jew hating and Holocaust denial. You dupes have a whole internet in which to indulge in such shitbaggery. You will respect this or you will be banned. End of conversation.
Thank you Caitlin. AntiSemitism has been going on for centuries. Just another form of virulent racism.
By taking this authoritarian position, you are aiding and abetting the ruling sociopaths in controlling the narrative, the very thing you so vocally oppose. It’s important to recognize our own cognitive dissonance, as we cannot escape our prior brainwashing without doing so. I would love to discuss this with you, but that would be the beginning of a conversation.
Caitlin, deleting comments or URL links about political Z10 nists puts you in bad light. Sorry to be blunt but your bias is apparent and I do really understand your position. Why not rather use your journalist skills to influence the discussion. Open your forum and your mind, do some in-depth research. If you find that allegations are unsubstantiated, unfair and slanderous, then present your facts and shame anyone who falsely accuses political Z10 nists.
Does that go for racists of all stripes. Let all the blatant racists have their say on this site. That is not the thrust of Caitlins blog. The blog has her name on it. If she does not want to entertain every racist who has something to say that is her poragative.
A comprehensive analysis of so called ‘news’:
https://swprs.org/the-propaganda-multiplier/
Oops
A lengthy analysis of so called news:
https://swprs.org/the-propaganda-multiplier/
The thing I have seen so far is always the same; the decadent wealthy people doing their best to irritate and humiliate the lower socio-economic class.
It has been sadly a constant.
It always have been the case but it is probably worst today because we are in the return of the days of Noah just before the Second Coming of Jesus.
Keeping my Rosary on hand!
it’s the 75th anniversary of the bombing that was dropped on Nagasaki today. The US merely wave that away as justified action to end a war. Along with Hiroshima three days earlier, a staggering 200,000 innocent people were killed. Imagine if those were people living in towns in the US or UK. The imperial Western war machine does those things. China does not have an imperial record on the scale of the West. China has 4 overseas military bases. the US has over 700. It doesn’t take a genius to think that the US is by far the most dangerous out of control warring nation on earth. their great weapon is ‘manufacturing consent’ for their state terrorism. Propaganda is that weapon. One thing that struck me about the supposed Uyghur oppression is that China has built 30,000 mosques and signs and notices in Xinjiang regions where Uyghurs live are in Mandarin and their own language. Why would a country do that if they were persecuting them? it is all made up. It’s easy to dispel. The Grayzone and Daniel Haiphong have great videos that expose the truth of these lies. And why is there no news coverage of the horrendous terrorism in xinjiang from radicalised groups? As you say Caitlin why should we accept the information from those that have lied consistently in the past? the answer should be we don’t.
For 20 years I tried waking people up to reality but made no impact. MSM pulls them in hook line and sinker. Other readers also seem to fail in this challenge. Caitlin thinks we can and must wake people up so I asked her to set up an online survey and ask readers: (1) how long have you been trying to wake people up to reality? (2) Approximately how many people have you tried to wake up? (3) Approximately how many people did you succeed in waking up and really converting them? Caitlin ignore me but does any other reader on her forum have the time and experience to run an online survey for Caitlin’s readers?
Racist, Xenophobic, Feeble minded people will STILL believe. they don’t need any proof. all they want is an excuse to justify their insecurities, hatred of other. there’s no helping them. after spending 3 years soul searching, alone, in Mexico, i’ve concluded there are more evil people than good people. there’s nothing you can do. don’t get stressed over it. just let things flow. as for you Caitlin, you and I are cut from the same cloth. i don’t have time to worry about another country. there’s enough drama & wickedness in America. but i am sure, like-minded people do appreciate your work. it’s not easy. this is why im absent from Social Media, except Facebook & YouTube. and even those, i barely go on. Stay positive. love from Philadelphia, USA. (The Evil Empire)
i love it when they call China Communist China!
pretty soon if not already factoid, China will have more Billionaires than
the US. more than US plus EU maybe. we’d still have a 2/3 total population
disadvantage.
anyway,
there are no Billionaires under Communism…!
poor Joe (stalin not biden) must be rolling over in his grave.
[biden probably can’t roll over.]
Granted. I don’t have the resources or analytical mind to question a fake video of China’s human rights violation. However you do post often enough the “Debunking the Myth” documentary at the end of these kind of articles which usually criticize the narrative of China being the bad boy.
I’m curious as to what your thoughts are about the recent skirmish in what is the Galwan River valley, where if the Indian government were to be believed China has been an infiltrator over the years, now even setting their eyes on Sikkim & Bhutan as they did in Tibet. Full disclosure as an immigrant from India, my sympathies lie with the position of the Indian government… naturally(?)
but this India-China problem just happens now? LOL
Caitlin, I had the exact same thought when I saw that video. Fake news. I tgen discontinued reading the article. People are so gullible. Stupidity has suddenly been on parade. You dpeak against anything with common sense ir skeptism and you are the stupid one. Bizzaro world. The sane have become the insane.
Is it not amazing how human beings whether they are rich or poor always seem to assume that they can never be wrong about anything that they believe in? As we grow older we are supposed to learn from our mistakes to better ourselves as individuals; we are supposed to have ” souls ” within us. Right is right and wrong is wrong but almost everyone believes that there must be ” exceptions “. Why is that? The ” owners and the masters ” can do no wrong nor ever be wrong about anything and we ” peons ” had better get used to that because that is all we will ever get from them. But why do we adopt that very same posture towards everyone else that believes in anything different from what we individually believe in. I have made many mistakes in my life and thankfully I grew wiser and a lot more humble because I suffered from those mistakes. One of the greatest things that I have learned to do is to be willing to honestly listen to the viewpoints of other people and then rationally think about what they said. It make take time, sometimes lots of time, but minds can be changed without arguing or fighting about it. My age, gender, religion, heritage, etc. etc. are irrelevant; right is right and wrong is wrong. Our species is dysfunctional because we twist morals, ethics, laws, etc. etc. to suit our purposes and goals as we go along. Perhaps someday we will be ruled over by robots that enforce all of the rules the same for everybody without any exceptions.
I am sure the programmers will make for exceptions when they write the code.
If the ” programmers ” are themselves robots, maybe that will not happen. Human beings are not morally or ethically stable enough to run things. We prove that over and over and over.
The Americans have almost 3 million in jail, but China or Russia or whoever is the bad guy? Uyghur Moslems are in trouble but only Christian Nations are pointing it out? The Chinese are spying on everyone, but the Americans were the ones caught spying on Germany. The great thing about the internet is that as much as narrative control is attempted, it is undermined by simple curiosity. I think you’re right, Ms Johnstone, scepticism or flat out disbelief.
Yesterday someone posted a picture of a naked Iraqi man who had been hung on a wall in the concentration camp/torture facility the US built there. A shocking visage even today . The videos , pictures , and trial transcripts were never denied to have occurred and a different set of lies applied to negate the reality of our actions as the world’s main torturer of prisoners . “We’re number one !”
Anytime anybody tells me who I ought to hate, I turn it on them.
This whole manufactured narrative thing to justify military threat or intervention apparently started–or at least was perfected–with Yugoslavia in the 1990s. So says another Johnstone, Diana Johnstone, in her memoir, “Circle of Darkness.” This illuminating memoir of a “rogue journalist” from the generation preceding Caitlin (and which gives her honorable mention) is strongly recommended to those old school types who still read books.
Should be “Circle In The Darkness.” Getting older by the day.
Started way before that.
Me getting too old or phony narratives to justify aggressive military action? What Diana Johnstone documents so well is the hatching of the R2P (right to protect) strategy by American neocons in league with the MSM. By now we all know the game of demonizing the foreign leader of a nation in which we want regime change, accusing him of atrocities against his own people, and then rallying (through propaganda) the American public and our NATO allies to support the use of military force to rescue the people supposedly under the heel of that Hitlerian leader. The development of this strategy during the 1990s, and its successful trial run in the Third Balkan War, has had a disastrous and lasting impact on leftist peace advocates and plays into much of what Caitlin currently writes about. I would LOVE to see both Johnstones interviewed together and hope someone picks up on this.
i remember reading that the romans justified invading their fellow city states in italy, as they began to expand their empire, by pretending they were protecting them from other enemies. and of course that was the basis for the vietnam war, “protecting” south vietnam from “worldwide communism”.
Yup. But Vietnam was justified more by the domino effect, that if we didn’t intervene then communism would continue to gobble up one nation after another. The R2P thing (should be “responsibility” to protect) was a Clintonian perversion of the concept of human rights, originally emphasized in the Carter administration.
Communism evil. Democracy good.
https://soundcloud.com/guns-and-butter-1/memoir-of-a-world-watcher-diana-johnstone-423
Enjoy!
Precisely
It took me even longer to realise – it was Syria that made me start digging.
See “How the World was Fooled” on bitchute
Did they prove to you that it wasn’t concentration camp video footage?
The proof, if there is such a thing, is that it serves the agenda of a party seeking power. As such, it cannot be believed. One side of an issue is just as likely deceiving you as the other is, if the acquisition of power is involved.
Xinjiang religious leader: U.S. should get facts straight
Individuals rather than “The West” create narrative history through their power of position to dominate the content of MSM story-telling. They should draw our ire.
yeah, lol, nice way to deflect responsibility from the biggest propaganda machine ever aka the US plutocrats
no thanks
I know it’s not not foolproof, but I do not believe a word of anything a western government tells me, I live in Britain , the British people are lied to daily, yet still bizarrely they still maintain a healthy belief in its.manipulative ways. So many times the government has been shown to be lying, yet people still hold some credibility for there government. I think this is because people will not pick up a book, education is not a guarantee for anything, but by reading the reader gradually developed a hazy picture of whose on what side and why, because there is a logic that allows sunlight.
Most people hold opinionscwithout facts. They simply accept what they are told.
A bit like when we see an image of a black man lying on the ground and a policeman kneeling on his back. We are told it is racist police brutality and we believe it. Now that we have more evidence, like the body-cam footage which is incapable of being mis-represented, and an autopsy report, I hope every right-minded person will review their knee-jerk reactions to the initial propaganda, and admit they were misled.
That’s stupid nonsense.
The body-cam footage is incapable of being mis-represented. Did you watch it? The autopsy report is that George Floyd died of a drug overdose, and had no evidence of damage to his neck or spine. In what way is that stupid, and in what way is that nonsense. I am careful in what I say. People look to you to understand how media narrative works. Don’t let us down now.
The bodycam footage shows Floyd was distressed and resisting. Being distressed and resisting is not a legitimate reason to kneel on someone’s neck for eight minutes and continue kneeling after he lost consciousness. The autopsy does not say Floyd died of a drug overdose. You only believe these things because you were told to believe them in a confident tone of voice, and perhaps because you were looking for an excuse to believe it. Anyone who’s studied Brazilian jiu jitsu knows how easily that kind of neck pressure can turn into carotid artery pressure, especially when applied to a larger person. I recommend watching this video:
Get with the program Caitlin Mr Floyd died of covid?
LOL. Thats what I believe too. If he had been wearing a mask he would be alive today.
Which? That one believes the initial narrative, or that one believes the the body cam footage and the autopsy narrative? Or that the incident isn’t comparable to the anti-Chinese propaganda? The fact is that nothing you see or hear can be summarily accepted. Most often, controversial information can’t be accepted at all. Either side of any issue is likely to be deceptive if there is any possibility it serves the agenda of the entity producing or promoting it, or denying it. Those who seek power over others typically have no moral boundaries at all. There is nothing so evil that they will not participate in it if it serves their purpose. Including the Psychopaths In Charge of both the US and China. Including those who claim racism is rampant in the US, and those who claim there’s none. It’s all narrative, and it all involves seeking power. Which sane moral people do not do.
Hi Caitlin
I’m a huge fan of yours, but you really do need to confirm that you saw the body cam footage before making this comment.
I watched the whole thing. See my response to the commenter.
Thanks for your response.
Do you have any opinions about the fact they both worked in the same nightclub for years?
I have opinions about that but I’m not going to say them out loud.
“That’s stupid nonsense.” …because?
The bodycam footage shows Floyd was distressed and resisting. Being distressed and resisting is not a legitimate reason to kneel on someone’s neck for eight minutes and continue kneeling after he lost consciousness. The autopsy does not say Floyd died of a drug overdose. You only believe these things because you were told to believe them in a confident tone of voice, and perhaps because you were looking for an excuse to believe it. Anyone who’s studied Brazilian jiu jitsu knows how easily that kind of neck pressure can turn into carotid artery pressure, especially when applied to a larger person. I recommend watching this video:
That Mr Floyd was murdered while in police custody is irrefutable . The reason he was murdered is the fog that has descended on this crime. Petty criminal meets corrupt cop , predictable outcome perhaps?
Floyd put himself in harms way with his behavior and drug use. Dying was eventually expected. Like a mountain climber doing a free ascent. Do it long enough and eventually you will fall to your death.
Victim blaming in defense of the police state is disgusting and obnoxious. Don;t do it.
Not victim blaming or defending cops. Simply stating risky behavior can get you killed. Thus stay home if you are getting drunk or high. Best way to avoid cops unless you make such a disturbance neighbors call them. For petes sake people need to take some responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming others for bad situations. Victim mentality is the biggest problem for the west today. To state clearly cops were wrong. But so was Floyd.
Maybe It’s not my place to say, but you’re argueing with a troll that doesn’t care if you’re right. Trolls have an agenda, and finding the truth is not part of it.
That must fit into your view of the world quite nicely. Anyone with a differing opinion is a troll.
A conservative who spends all day on a liberal website telling them not to worry about wearing masks deserves to be called a troll.
Excuse me. I consider myself a libertarian with the majority of views similar to Caitlins. If that is conservative to you so be it. I am very pro environment, anti government and against the nanny state. I disagree and agree with both the right and left. I am not brain dead and blindly accept views just because it comes from a democrat or republican. The politician I admire the most is Putin. What box do I fit in
Deflect, deny, minimize. I guess you don’t really like being a troll.
HEY!! Didnt you hear that confident tone of voice, thought criminal?
Caitlin should change her name to KAREN.
Ain’t it time you starting admitting a few things (like, to yourself about yourself)?
Could you be a bit more specific.
The Chinese should respond with some footage of American prisons, slums, collapsing infrastructure, underfunded schools and hospitals, piss poor public transport, shiny military bases and the mansions of the billionaires.
But they’re too civilised to resort to that kind of Propaganda Porn.
Maybe deciding no war is a good war could keep one from being influenced.
Is the war just.
Are good intentions involved.
Is it the last resort.
Is the response appropriate to the situation.
Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Be an acorn that stands on ground and become a mighty oak.
Ah yes, the shit just keeps spinning around and around; the real truth is always hidden away from public view. I am still floored from about Israel Destroys East Beirut With a New Weapon By Thierry Meyssan https://www.voltairenet.org/article210679.html
The Empire strikes yet again.
Yes. Everything is always Israels fault. I have been so blind.
That article also contained fakes – a video (the alleged rocket attack) and a mistakenly described photo of Netanyahu. Meyssan admits the errors and corrected the article. In this case it was error due to predisposition to believe. Wanting to believe a certain thing.
https://www.voltairenet.org/article210681.html
It is far too early for any of us to know what really happened in Beirut. Meanwhile the incident is being used by all and sundry to promote their pet theories.
Donald Trump’s generals say it was a bomb.
Yes, the region has good cause to pause. On the one hand, we have not had the forensics on the Port explosion, and on the other, we have Trump’s assertion – later reiterated by him – that he was told by his military generals that what happened in Beirut was “an attack” (a bomb). The President did not “speculate” that it was an attack. He said plainly that his generals had told him so. This article can be read here:
Beirut Devastated: The New Paradigm May Be Explosive
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/09/beirut-devastated-the-new-paradigm-may-be-explosive/
Thank you always, Ms. Johnstone!
China : Bad
USA : Good
Russia : Bad
USA : Good
Iran : Bad
USA : Good
Venezuela: Bad
USA : Good
Syria : Bad
USA : Good
Cuba : Bad
USA : Good
Pretty easy really.
Why is it so hard to understand?
Addendum
Libya : previously very Bad, now very Good
USA : Good
Iraq : previously very Bad, now Good but might be go bad again
USA : Good
Yugoslavia : previously very Bad, now very Good, but no longer on map
USA : Good
Ukraine : previously going Bad, now Good again
USA : Good
North Korea : very Bad, currently being ignored because too confusing
USA : Good
Al-Qaeda : previously very very Bad, now rebranded so probably Good
USA : Good
ISIS : previously very very Bad, not mentioned often now so probably now Good and no longer requires material and operational support
USA : Good
Yes, the list is truncated
Me good
You bad
Great information and analysis. Thank you.
Every day Caitlin – you upset the official narratives with commonsense questioning of the “Cui Bono” type! For which thank-you – over and over – thank-you!
Excellent post. Please keep exposing this stuff.