Records recently released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) reveal Florida’s Sun Sentinel Newspaper and many other American media outlets have received millions in Chinese funding.
The funding originated from China Daily of Beijing, a newspaper entirely owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
According to the DOJ’s records, the Sun Sentinel received six payments amounting to over thirty thousand dollars in funding.
Other notable American media entities receiving Chinese funding were The Seattle Times, the Houston Chronicle, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, TIME, USA Today, the Financial Times, and the Chicago Tribune.
Together, the newspapers received over $8 million from the CCP.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) responded to the DOJ report by submitting a letter to each of the newspapers urging them to cease accepting Chinese payments.
“A Communist China propaganda publication is funding American media outlets,” said Senator Rubio as he announced the letter.
A Communist China propaganda publication is funding American media outlets.
Sent letters with @GrassleyPress urging nine media companies to stop taking money from Communist China.https://t.co/Crt1dyoV3x
— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) March 5, 2024
Rubio’s letter lamented the US newspapers’ collaboration with China Daily, an organization that, Rubio claims, intends to subvert American interests.
China Daily is managed by the Propaganda Department of the CCP, officially known as the Publicity Department of the CCP.
“Your organization’s continued involvement with the Propaganda Department of the CCP impedes the countless federal efforts working to combat China’s influence peddling schemes,” reads the letter.
Rubio outlined some of the nefarious propagandistic practices performed by China Daily in an attempt to convince the American newspapers to cease accepting the former’s funds.
Rubio assured that “from whitewashing the genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, to excusing the CCP’s continued bankrolling of Russia’s war against Ukraine, China Daily’s mission is to propagate the goals of the party.”
As of today, none of the identified newspapers have responded to Rubio’s letter.
