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Decode China: US pulls plug on Chinese-language news site for Australia without explanation
- Decode China had been envisaged as an outlet to ‘expose and counter propaganda and disinformation’ with funding from Washington
- Observers said it could have acted as a balancing force to Chinese state media, which has made significant inroads in Australia in recent years
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A planned Chinese-language news service for Australia that had the backing of the United States government has been abruptly shelved in unclear circumstances just weeks after details about it were first revealed.
The US State Department on Wednesday confirmed that Decode China had been terminated during the “development stage” after earlier being selected for funding under its Information Access Fund, which was established in 2018 to “support public and private partners working to expose and counter propaganda and disinformation from foreign nations”.
The fund is managed by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a London-based charity that says it provides training, mentoring and other support to journalists and civil society in “countries in conflict, crisis and transition around the world”. The non-profit organisation received US$13.6 million in grants and donations from sources in the United States, Britain and the Netherlands in 2016, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to an annual report.
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The State Department declined to explain why it had cut support for the project.
Decode China, which has been linked to figures within the Sydney-based Chinese-language media group Vision Times, first came to light in disclosures on the Australian government’s public register of foreign influence, where it was described as a “sub-awardee” of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.
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