The cdr of the Sun against the (paid) insert of Beijing’s propaganda

While the media around the world decide to put a limit on funding and advertising coming from countries that relaunch disinformation such as China and Russia, in Italy it seems that no public debate has yet been opened on the issue

Yesterday, on page 30 of Il Sole 24 Ore, a press release was published by the newspaper’s editorial committee harshly criticizing the publisher’s choice to continue publishing the paid insert periodically Focus China. It had already happened in the past that the editorial staff had protested. But for the business journal’s editors, the latest publication has crossed the line: on the one hand it is almost impossible for a reader to understand where the journalistic work ends and where the paid insert begins – and instead by law the difference should be immediate. It’s not even clear who the client is: the embassy of the People’s Republic in Italy? The Beijing government? One of the Chinese lobbying firms operating in Italy? But the editorial staff, in the press release, underlines above all the most disturbing aspect of those who decide to leave room for a certain type of financing: the four pages of Focus China are in fact four pages of propaganda: “It ranges from ‘In 2022 the Chinese GDP hit a new record’, to ‘Foreign companies still focus on investment in China’ to land with a significant ‘China, a hotspot for foreign investment’. In short, pure propaganda to attract investments from Italy to China”, reads the press release.