cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/33936574
While attention in Central Europe has often centered on Russian propaganda, China has been quietly cultivating its own influence operations through unexpected channels – from Czech radio stations to TikTok influencers and all-expenses-paid trips to China. These efforts reveal a growing sophistication in Beijing’s strategy to shape perceptions abroad, leveraging entertainment, travel, and digital culture to mask deeper political objectives. What appears at first glance to be harmless cultural exchange may, in fact, form part of a broader, state-driven influence campaign with far-reaching implications for public discourse and (social) media integrity in the Czech Republic and beyond.
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Beyond [social media] influencers, China’s covert propaganda has infiltrated traditional Czech media. Between 2019 and 2023, the show “Barevný svět” aired up to six times a week on Radio HEY. While it appeared to be a travel program, analysis by China analyst Ivana Karásková revealed it was produced in partnership with China Radio International (CRI), a state outlet under the Chinese Communist Party’s control. The program portrayed China exclusively in a positive light, referred to Taiwan as “the largest island belonging to China,” and promoted Tibet’s inclusion as a rightful part of the country. The broadcast was discontinued only after Karásková’s findings were published.
Print and television media have not been immune either. After Chinese conglomerate CEFC entered Empresa Media, negative or even neutral reporting on China disappeared from the media group’s major outlets such as Týden and TV Barrandov. In 2019, the Czech daily Právo published an eight-page insert celebrating 70 years of Czech-China relations. Although marked as commercial content in fine print, the pages were authored by Czech journalists – blurring the lines between editorial and advertorial.
TikTok campaigns have also been rolled out in the Czech Republic with increasing subtlety. In late 2022, Czech influencers Dominique Alagia and Lukáš Tůma participated in a sponsored trend featuring a cartoon lion – referencing the Czech national symbol – created by CRI.
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Although not all Czech influencers explicitly disclosed the paid nature of the collaboration, parallel campaigns were launched in Poland and Greece, adapting national symbols to better resonate with local audiences – a young bull (ciołek) in Poland and an owl, a classical symbol of wisdom, in Greece. In both cases, European influencers were contacted to collaborate with TikTok accounts run by Chinese individuals fluent in local languages, who produce content targeted at European audiences. The goal was to boost the engagement of these Chinese influencers operating in Europe.
In Poland, a Chinese woman fluent in Polish, Oliwia Waskocha, coordinated the campaign in November 2022, involving a large number of influencers; collectively, these Polish influencers currently amass nearly 7 million followers on TikTok alone. In Greece, a Chinese woman operating under the handle @mariannalee_ (with 81,400 TikTok followers) spearheaded a comparable campaign, using dance performances featuring an owl to symbolically connect with Greek cultural heritage.
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One of these influencers – Jan Michálek – even travelled to China, a trip fully funded by Chinese entities, which he confirmed in a 2024 podcast. A promotional video published by Pepa Zhang’s official Facebook account shows Michálek enjoying Xinjiang’s landscapes and cultural festivals, portraying a region better known internationally for its human rights controversies as an idyllic travel destination. Both Pepa and Lada are featured singing with their Czech guest, suggesting not just casual exchange but orchestrated cultural diplomacy.
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The term “white monkey,” often used pejoratively in some Asian contexts, refers to Westerners hired to lend prestige to events or promotional content. Though problematic, it may describe the underlying logic of these Chinese-sponsored influencer trips: showcasing foreign admiration to boost China’s image among its own citizens. By omitting political issues, these campaigns present China as modern, friendly, and culturally rich – ideal for soft power projection.
TikTok represents an ideal platform for Chinese state-linked actors to disseminate promotional content. Influencers on the app are not only accustomed to paid collaborations, but they also command the attention of vast, often young, audiences who place a high degree of trust in their recommendations. These creators offer a ready-made channel for subtle messaging that bypasses traditional media scrutiny. Crucially, TikTok remains largely unmonitored by governmental or civil society institutions that might otherwise flag, contextualize, or push back against such content. This vacuum creates fertile ground for influence operations to take root and spread, often unnoticed, in the feeds of millions.