Now Reading: India part of US push to counter China propaganda: official
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India part of US push to counter China propaganda: official
Sarah Rogers, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), told a Senate committee that Asia, including India, would be a principal focus of America's public diplomacy…
The Story in Brief
Sarah Rogers, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), told a Senate committee that Asia, including India, would be a principal focus of America's public diplomacy strategy. She said the US must counter growing information campaigns by China and other authoritarian governments. Rogers noted that she has already tweeted content about India and Japan, countries where Twitter is most popular.
Rogers said USAGM would modernise by using short-form video, diaspora group chats, and podcasts, while maintaining traditional broadcasts where effective. She estimated China spends $40 billion annually on propaganda against USAGM's $1 billion budget. Asia, the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, and Cuba were identified as strategic priorities. The comments come as the US intensifies competition with China in the information domain.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that the US is 'winning the information war' against China is comforting but simplistic when the budget for propaganda is 40 times smaller. The real test will be whether Sarah Rogers can restore the research capacity to actually measure reach and viewership, as she promised. Until then, the claim that 'free people choose America' remains an article of faith, not a verifiable fact. Why should Indians trust a strategy that hinges on Twitter popularity rather than substantive engagement?
Sources (2): thehansindia.com, thehansindia.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
