Kabul: China continues to increase its media presence in Afghanistan since Taliban seized power in 2021 with Afghan journalists claiming that Chinese media outlets in the country are reporting content that highlights Beijing’s positive role while avoiding stories regarding poverty, repression or human rights abuses, a report has stated.
After Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, media landscape has collapsed due to lack of funding and restrictions. Hundreds of media outlets in Afghanistan have ended operations and thousands of journalists have lost their jobs and those who continue to work face censorship, intimidation and economic pressure. According to a report in Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Chinese state media is trying to fill the void.
“China has significantly expanded its media presence in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021, with Afghan journalists telling RFE/RL that Chinese outlets in the country are producing content that highlights Beijing’s positive role while avoiding stories about poverty, repression, or human-rights abuses,” it stated.
“Our work focuses only on positive issues. We are told to produce documentaries and reports that strengthen [China’s] relations with the [Taliban] government,” RFE/RL quoted a Kabul-based Afghan journalist who has worked for a Chinese outlet in the country as saying under condition of anonymity.
The Afghan journalist added, “We see hunger and hardship when visiting fields, but those stories are not wanted. The reality is hidden.”
Several Afghan journalists working for Chinese outlets in Kabul said that they were asked not to speak to other media outlets and risk losing their jobs if they did. Speaking to RFE/RL, former Afghan employees of China Central Television (CCTV) and China Global Television Network (CGTN) said that Chinese outlets used to share content with Afghan channels which showcased Beijing’s “constructive role,” even though Chinese reporting also emphasised corruption, insecurity, and political dysfunction — content that backed Beijing’s rivalry with Washington.
Speaking to RFE/RL, a senior Afghan manager at a Chinese media organisation said that media outlets now focus on reporting regional political and security issues after Taliban seized power, especially tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He said that Chinese media outlets have strengthened cooperation with Taliban-controlled state media like Bakhtar News Agency through joint programmes, content sharing, and technical support. According to analysts, China’s effort is aimed to boost its political and economic influence in Afghanistan as Western media outlets end operations and local media struggle under restrictions imposed by Taliban.
The report in RFE/RL stated, “Afghanistan’s independent media sector continues to face collapse. Many journalists have fled, and numerous outlets face imminent shutdown. Whereas outlets once funded by Western donors have lost financial support. Taliban regulations have also imposed sweeping censorship systems, banned entertainment programming and films, and placed restrictions on women’s participation in media.”
(IANS)
