I’ll tell you about China’s information war
The strange case of the journalist Laurène Beaumond, who published an article in which she rejects the accusations of genocide and persecution suffered by the Uyghur minority
In an article published on the website of the Chinese state television CGTN , which recently obtained permission to broadcast in French, a young woman, presented as an independent French journalist residing in China, rejects the accusations of genocide and persecution suffered by the Uyghur minority. .
An "editor's note" precedes the column published on the French-language site of the CGTN channel, to present the alleged author: "Independent journalist residing in France, double degree in history of art and archeology at the Sorbonne-IV University and owner of a Masters in Journalism, Laurène Beaumond worked in various Parisian editorial offices before settling in Beijing where she lived for almost 7 years “.
However, this "Laurène Beaumond", who says she has gone to Xinjiang several times, does not have a press card, according to Le Monde, who has not found her trace among professional journalists. Even a Google search does not reveal any articles with the name “Laurène Beaumond”. Strange, for a journalist who lived in China and collaborated with "several editorial offices in France".
"Laurène Beaumond", in the article published on the French-language site of the CGTN , denies the accusations made by those who denounce the sterilization of Uyghur women and the forced labor of this Muslim minority. "Where do these new passionates of the 'Uyghur cause' come from, this ethnic group whose fate has not worried anyone so far?", It reads. A "parody of a remote trial in China", writes "Laurène Beaumond", without "any concrete evidence". According to her, there are no Chinese re-education camps, contrary to the investigations documented by some researchers. In fact, to legitimize his considerations, he claims that he visited it a dozen times between 2014 and 2019.
According to Antoine Bondaz, a researcher with the Foundation for Strategic Research, who recently paid the price for the attacks on the Chinese ambassador, the fake profile of Laurène Beaumond appeared in late 2020. In an article published on April 1, the CGTN channel claims to to have "concrete proof of Laurène Beaumond's various stays in Xinjiang, numerous photos and even a copy of her marriage certificate, since she got married in Urumqi in 2014 with a person from that city".
And the French site of the channel explains that Laurrène Beaumond is a pseudonym: "Laurène Beaumond wanted to use a pseudonym and we respected her choice, because we know the risk that this represents for some French journalists to express their opinion in favor of China". The French CGTN site specifies that “the journalist who works under the pseudonym of Laurène Beaumond has decided not to use this pseudonym in the future, fearing for her safety and that of her family. The Twitter accounts created on March 31, and after, are all fake accounts, having Laurène Beaumond closed her Twitter account which was also in her real name ”.
Even through these unusual tools, China carries out its disinformation or, if you prefer, its information warfare .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/vi-racconto-la-guerra-informativa-della-cina/ on Sat, 03 Apr 2021 08:39:43 +0000.