bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Ernest Kao

Just months after Kim Jong-un was satirised as "the sexiest man alive" and barely a fortnight after economist Paul Krugman was mischeviously rumoured to be bankrupt, Chinese state media have been duped again.
This time, a fake report by western parodists was probably not to blame.
Xinhua was fooled on Tuesday by a fake Time magazine cover circulating online of Wu Renbao, the late former party secretary of Jiangsu’s Huaxi Village, who died of lung cancer on Monday night at age 85 (read more about the man here).

The news agency broke news of Wu’s death on Sina Weibo along with a photo of the cover. It praised Wu for his achievements in transforming Huaxi and how he once graced a 2005 cover of Time.
But as astute netizens on weibo were quick to point out, the cover was really a photoshop job of a January 2006 Time cover featuring disgraced American lobbyist Jack Abramoff with cover line “The man who bought Washington”.
Unfortunately, this was not before Qinghai-based daily News News ran a Wu story in its Tuesday paper accompanied with a large photo of the fake cover, China blog Danwei reported.
What was most embarrassing for Xinhua, News News, Guangzhou Daily and even China Daily, amongst the many media outlets who ran the fake image, was the blatantly obvious fake cover line which any copy editor with a beginner’s grasp of English would have picked up.
It read: “The man who men of the moment” followed by Wu Renbao’s name in Chinese characters and a description about Jack Abramoff.
Some netizens joked this was not all bad. “Let’s take the optimist’s view here - there’s media oversight now, but journalism is getting better in China. Just a few years ago, we would have never doubted whether the photo was genuine,” a weibo user said.


Chinese marriage brokers find a new hunting ground in Nepal

Chinese fans weigh in on Quan’s bulkier physique but say diving star ‘still a Ferrari’

How China can position its K visa for success in race for global tech talent

Togo football international Asamoah in paralysis fear after collision during China match

Weibo

State media duped again by fake Time cover of Wu Renbao

Spot the fake. 

Wu Renbao. Photo: Xinhua

Another Chinese news outlet falls victim to satire, fooled on fake Krugman report

Economist Paul Krugman, who is not broke. Photo: Xinhua

Dictator or visionary? Leader of China's richest village leaves mixed legacy

The Longxi International Hotel is 328 metres high and cost US$470 million to build in Huaxi village. Photo: AFP

A photo of Wu Baoren in 2008. Photo: Xinhua 

News

China

Opinion

Blogs

This time, a fake report by western satirists was probably not to blame.


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}This time, a fake report by western satirists was probably not to blame.

This time, a fake report by western satirists was probably not to blame.