Category: Media
India’s Influencers Still Struggle Years After TikTok Ban
By Asma Hafiz with Anuj Srivas Choreographer Sahil Kumar found fame showcasing folk dances on TikTok, but his profile has been dormant since the video he posted four years ago supporting India's decision to ban the platform.
Beijing Half Marathon Runners Stripped of Medals After Controversial Finish
The top three in Sunday's Beijing half marathon have been stripped of their medals, organizers said, following an investigation into the finish that saw China's He Jie controversially win. He crossed the line first in a bizarre finish after the Kenyans ...
TikTok Stops Working in Kyrgyzstan After Ban Proposals
Kyrgyzstan appears to have blocked TikTok after the Central Asian country's security services called to restrict the social media app to "protect children". When AFP journalists in the country tried to access TikTok on Thursday, a message read: "Unable to load, ...
There’s a Simple Explanation Why Three Runners From Kenya and Ethiopia Allowed a Chinese National to Win the Beijing Half Marathon
The organizers of the Beijing half marathon said Monday they were investigating after footage, shared widely online, appeared to show three African runners deliberately allowing China's He Jie to win. Video clips of Sunday's race showed the Kenyans, Robert Keter and ...
The State of Chinese Tech in Africa With Benjamin Dada
For much of the past ten years, Chinese technology in Africa focused largely on devices and infrastructure. But today, the conversations also include issues related to governance, online services, and the emergence of artificial intelligence. ...
ByteDance Shuts Down Free African Messaging App That Failed to Challenge WhatsApp
Chinese tech firm ByteDance shut down its three-year-old multimedia messaging app LetsChat earlier this month, a rare defeat for the social media giant that hoped the platform would take off among Africa’s ballooning youth population. In contrast to TikTok, ByteDance’s short ...
TikTok’s Growing Popularity in Africa
Africa has the youngest population in the world, and they are rapidly warming to TikTok, the social media platform developed by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance. With its popular short videos and music with various features, TikTok is taking off in ...
China Nearly Done With Its Aid Program to Bring Satellite TV to 10,000 Rural Communities Across Africa
It's been almost ten years since Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled a plan at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Johannesburg to install satellite television dishes in 10,000 rural African communities. Now, nine years later, only a few hundred installations are left.
China’s Unusually Subdued Response to Blinken’s Philippines Trip
Usually, the arrival of a U.S. cabinet secretary in Southeast Asia provokes a robust Chinese response, with statements from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing and a slew of critical coverage from state and party-controlled media. But in the run-up to U.S. ...
Manila Invites CNN, Wall Street Journal Aboard Coast Guard Ships to Cover Confrontations With China in South China Sea
Reporters from leading international news organizations, including CNN and The Wall Street Journal, among others, were onboard Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships this week during violent confrontations with the China Coast Guard (CCG) in the South China Sea. Both outlets published ...
Immediately After Confrontations at Sea, Chinese and Philippine Partisans Battle to Shape the Narrative Online
When this current phase of the tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea began last February, the narrative struggle was largely one-sided. The Philippines Coast Guard understood that if it published videos of each ...
Making Sense of Competing Narratives on Debt and Climate Change
By Tim Hirschel-Burns If you are a casual observer trying to keep up with the news on sovereign debt right now, you have every right to be confused by last month’s stories. According to Bloomberg, ...