NBC Under Fire for 'Pushing Chinese Communist Propaganda' During Olympic Opening Ceremony Broadcast
NBC is coming under fire for coverage some critics say fawns all over China while ignoring its human rights abuses.
However, one media analyst said NBC, owned by Comcast, is in a position where it will offend someone, no matter what.
“Comcast is in a tough spot here,” Craig Moffett, a veteran media analyst at research firm MoffettNathanson, said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“It wasn’t their choice to host the games in Beijing … Now Comcast has to deal with the fallout,” he said.
And fallout there was aplenty.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and her group, Stand for America, said NBC bent over backward Friday to be kind to a communist regime not deserving of such support.
“NBC should be ashamed. Our press should be exposing China’s human rights abuses, not brushing them off,” Haley tweeted.
NBC should be ashamed. Our press should be exposing China’s human rights abuses, not brushing them off. https://t.co/2n4qGDHp6D
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 4, 2022
Stand for America bashed NBC for “casually pushing Chinese Communist propaganda.”
The group was irked by a clip it posted on Twitter, in which the broadcast said, “It’s worth remembering that while Western countries may be boycotting these Olympics over human rights issues, China styles itself as a champion of the developing world. And it has plenty of support in countries from Africa to Latin America where its investments are building up local economies.”
Republicans, who form the minority on the House Judiciary Committee, got into the act as well.
“NBC is spewing the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda during the Olympics. Democrats are passing a “China” bill that doesn’t actually hold the CCP accountable. Americans know this: No one was tougher on China than President Trump!” the Republicans on the panel tweeted.
NBC is spewing the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda during the Olympics.
Democrats are passing a “China” bill that doesn’t actually hold the CCP accountable.
Americans know this:
No one was tougher on China than President Trump!
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) February 4, 2022
But others noted that NBC tried to note the context of the games, including the diplomatic boycott from the United States linked to concerns over the human rights abuses China inflicts upon the Uyghur people.
“Mike Tirico discussing the diplomatic boycotts and human rights issues in China, mentioning the Uyghur’s, was not on my NBC Olympic bingo card,” tweeted TV personality Julie Stewart-Binks.
Mike Tirico discussing the diplomatic boycotts and human rights issues in China, mentioning the Uyghur’s, was not on my NBC Olympic bingo card
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) February 4, 2022
Credit to NBC, they are discussing everything to open the Games – boycotts, genocide of Uyghur’s, Peng Shuai & IOC’s involvement, zero covid policies, hypocrisy of IOC saying it’s non-political… #Beijing2022
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) February 4, 2022
But some said no matter what media outlets do, China wins.
”Media outlets covering the Beijing Genocide Games are helping to promote the Chinese government — Chinese Communist Party propaganda as it carries out genocide in East Turkistan,” said Salih Hudayar, head of a Washington, D.C.-based “Government in Exile” for the region, called Xinjiang by the Chinese government.
“It’s wrong to participate in any capacity, even as spectators,” he told The Inquirer.
Some said they understand the dynamics of power, even if they dislike it.
“China is so powerful that we cannot stop the big companies like NBC from bowing down because of economic reasons,” Tsering Jurme, a member of the Tibetan Association of Philadelphia, said.
“But I want Comcast and NBC to be fair. They should show what China is not showing: the human rights violations, the privacy issues, the way [athletes] cannot take a phone call without an app that monitors them,” Jurme said, according to the Inquirer.
“I want NBC to fairly broadcast those truths, not just the Games,” Jurme said.
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