The story of the coronavirus pandemic can be complicated and hard to follow, from how it started to the measures countries have taken to tackle its spread.

China, mobilizing global media machine in the coronavirus war of words.

Increasingly, experts and government officials in the United States and Europe are accusing China — the country first hit by the virus — of stoking that confusion and trying to shape the narrative through its state-run broadcasters and publications, and on social media.

China is trying to push three main messages about the outbreak, according to Rod Wye, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London and former head of Asia research at the UK Foreign Office.
First, Beijing wants to spread its claims of being successful at controlling the virus, and show off the supplies and medical experts it is sending around the world.

Second, it seeks to obscure the origins of the virus. According to Wye, the timeline of the “Chinese narrative begins with the lockdown in Wuhan and the resolute action of the party to control it,” not before.

“They are not at all keen on exploring the origins because that shows up real weaknesses in what they did,” according to CNN Business.

Third, Wye said, there is an attempt by Chinese officials to “sow confusion” about the way other countries have responded.

That’s part of an effort, “to undermine the credibility of those who are critiquing China and to strengthen the credibility of the Chinese narrative,” he added.

Of course, China is not alone in spreading confusing and conflicting information about the virus. US President Donald Trump has shared dubious medical claims, unverified origin theories, and attacked state governors over coronavirus testing capabilities, comments that have been amplified by the megaphone of sympathetic media outlets such as Fox News.

But Beijing’s push on the coronavirus appears to be part of a broader effort in recent years to become more aggressive with its messaging abroad, both through traditional channels such as television networks, and through more targeted use of social media — even on platforms banned in China itself.

The effort has been heightened during a war of words between China and some Western governments over the coronavirus.

Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said China could have done more to prevent the pandemic and suggested, without providing evidence, that the virus may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory.

In an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, Trump threatened to cut off relations with China over its handling of the virus.

In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for an “independent assessment of how this all occurred, so we can learn the lessons and prevent it from happening again.”

Chinese officials have lambasted “lies” that it said were fabricated by US politicians and media outlets to “shift the blame to China for their inadequate response to Covid-19.

One Chinese state media editor called Australia “chewing gum stuck to the sole of China’s shoes.”

China has also pushed back firmly against allegations that it is spreading misinformation. In an 11,000-word rebuke of US claims carried by state media over the weekend, the Chinese foreign ministry said “China has all along been open and transparent in information release.”

“Some US politicians, scholars and media outlets that are hostile to China have kept slandering and attacking China. China is a victim of disinformation,” the ministry said.

China: The hero in state media
One of the ways China spreads its message is through foreign language state-funded media outlets around the world, including newspapers such as the China Daily and Global Times, and television networks like China Global Television Network (CGTN).

The network, which says it has staff in more than 70 countries and in 2019 expanded in Europe by opening a 30,000 square foot London bureau, employs a mix of local and Chinese staff in all its offices. Like other state-owned outlets, CGTN broadcasts a mix of news about the pandemic, alongside content even some of its own staffers call “pure propaganda.”

“In some ways we should just let [the Chinese] talk and let the facts speak for themselves,”

“Right now China is really digging its own hole in many ways. Sometimes it’s better to just let people dig.”