The Guardian-BBC World Service retreat helping Russia and China push propaganda
October 13, 2024 3 min 570 words
英国媒体《卫报》的报道主要内容是：英国广播公司BBC总监Tim Davie将在伦敦举行的“未来韧性论坛”上发言，警告BBC World Service（国际频道）的资金削减，导致其在全球的影响力减弱，这反过来帮助了俄罗斯和中国向非洲中东和拉丁美洲等地区传播“不受挑战的宣传”。Davie还将指出，俄罗斯和中国控制的新闻媒体的扩张和影响力与BBC的投资相比高出了数千倍，这对全球真相安全稳定和民主构成了威胁。他强调，BBC World Service作为独立力量在全球新闻领域产生了重大影响，其进一步撤退应引起全球关切。 评论：该报道体现了西方媒体对中国和俄罗斯媒体的影响力和报道方式的偏见和担忧。西方媒体一直以来标榜自己的客观公正，而当中国和俄罗斯等国的媒体开始发出自己的声音时，他们却感到焦虑和不安。报道中提到的“宣传”一词带有强烈的贬义色彩，暗示中国和俄罗斯媒体没有遵守西方的新闻标准和价值观。然而，西方媒体也往往带有明显的偏见和倾向性，不能完全代表“真相”和“独立”。真正的多元化媒体环境应该容纳不同的声音和观点，允许受众自己判断和选择。此外，报道中提到的BBC国际频道的资金削减和关闭部分频道，也反映了西方媒体面临的严峻挑战和竞争压力。总之，西方媒体应该以开放和包容的态度对待中国和俄罗斯媒体的发展，而不是抱有偏见和恐惧心理。
The BBC director-general will warn that the retreat of its World Service because of funding cuts has helped Russia and China broadcast “unchallenged propaganda”.
In a speech at the Future Resilience Forum, a non-partisan meeting in London attended by international political figures, Tim Davie will discuss the global importance of the BBC World Service, which operates across more than 40 languages.
While addressing the war in Ukraine and unrest in the Middle East, Davie is expected to say: “Free and fair reporting has never been more essential – for global democracy and for audiences of most need around the world.”
He will add: “Perhaps most worrying from the BBC point of view is that we can now see clear evidence of the fact that, when the World Service retreats, state-funded media operators move in to take advantage.
“What we are facing is an all-out assault on truth worldwide – and with it security, stability and democracy. And no one should underestimate the impact the BBC has had in the global news landscape to this point – as an entirely independent force …”
During his Monday afternoon speech, Davie will also discuss the impact and growth of news outlets controlled by Russia and China, and how they are outspending BBC investment “by a multiple of thousands”.
“Together they are spending an estimated £6-8bn on expanding their global media activities – investing hard to grow their audiences in key markets in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America,” he will say.
“Across Africa in particular, Russian media is incredibly active in promoting its narratives, with social media influencers amplifying propaganda and so-called ‘activists’ live-streaming pro-Russia rallies.
“And this investment is seeing significant returns, not only in terms of the reach of Russian state broadcaster RT and China’s CGTN, but also in terms of trust.”
In his speech, Davie will discuss how other companies have filled the “gaps” the BBC left in Africa after its “retreat”.
“Kenya’s state broadcaster KBC has taken up Chinese output on TV and radio, as has Liberia’s state broadcaster LBS,” he will say. “Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Russian-backed media is now transmitting on the radio frequency previously occupied by BBC Arabic.
“Last month, our outstanding BBC Monitoring teams listened in to that Russian output on the day thousands of pagers and radio devices exploded. What they heard was unchallenged propaganda and narratives being delivered to local communities.
“Had the BBC been able to retain our impartial radio output, these messages would have been much harder for local audiences to find. In this context, the further retreat of the BBC World Service should be a cause for serious global concern.”
In 2022, the BBC announced the proposed closure of about 382 posts at the World Service as well as the closure of its Arabic and Persian radio services.
In April an inquiry was launched into the future funding of the service, focusing on the corporation’s influence as a soft power and establishing whether increased government support was needed.
The World Service is the BBC’s international broadcaster and is predominantly funded by the UK licence fee. It receives additional grant funding of £104.4m from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Under its current support package, the World Service has agreed not to close any language services, but this condition is set to be lifted in 2025.