China has spent years trying to shape how Americans view its government. According to new reporting from Natalie Winters, that effort may have included providing American journalists with carefully managed and fully funded trips to China.
Winters, the Washington correspondent for Bannon’s War Room, says journalists from several major news organizations participated in visits financed by a foundation connected to the Chinese Communist Party. The organizations reportedly represented include The New York Times, CNN, the Associated Press, The Hill, and MS NOW/MSNBC.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELREVEALED: Here Are the Mainstream Journalists on China’s Payroll 🚨
I exclusively uncovered the identities of prominent U.S. journalists flown to China by a CCP-linked influence operation seeking “favorable coverage” and “positive messages” about Beijing. 🧵
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
And she names names.
The names include:
– Ezra Klein, New York Times columnist
– Matthew Yglesias, Vox co-founder
– Ronald Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst
– Bradford Plumer, New York Times reporter
– Marjorie Miller, former Associated Press vice president— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
Also identified:
– Steve Clemons, former The Hill editor-at-large
– David Rohde, MS NOW senior national security reporter
– Jonathan Alter, NBC News and MSNBC political analyst
– David Sweeney, former NPR managing editor
– Daniel Gross, former Yahoo Finance columnist— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
Also on the roster:
– Marilyn Geewax, former NPR senior editor
– Kathleen Deveny, former Newsweek editor
– Tom Omestad, former U.S. News & World Report correspondent
– Steve Chapman, former Chicago Tribune columnist
– Bruce Stokes, former National Journal correspondent— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
The list continues:
– Craig Gilbert, former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Washington bureau chief
– Tony Semerad, Salt Lake Tribune reporter
– Shikha Dalmia, former The Week columnist
– Jonathan Broder, former Newsweek senior writer— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
Also identified:
– Cristi Kempf, former Chicago Tribune associate managing editor
– Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times deputy editorial page editor
– Julian Pecquet, former Foreign Affairs reporter— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
These were apparently not ordinary cultural exchanges. Participants reportedly received access to places that the average visitor would never be permitted to enter, including Chinese military facilities. Governments do not provide that kind of access without considering what they might gain from it.
The concern is not simply that journalists accepted free travel. The more important question involves what happened afterward. Winters argues that the program was designed to encourage positive reporting about China. Some participants later published stories or commentary presenting Beijing’s policies in a favorable light.
That does not automatically prove every favorable article was purchased or dictated by the Chinese government. It does create a serious conflict that deserves public scrutiny. Readers have a right to know when a foreign government or an organization connected to it has financed a journalist’s travel.
The situation becomes even more troubling when viewed alongside China’s broader behavior inside the United States. American officials have repeatedly raised concerns about Chinese nationals approaching sensitive military locations. While Beijing carefully controls access to its own facilities, individuals connected to China have shown considerable interest in ours.
Winters also connects members of the Biden administration to the relationship-building effort. That raises questions about how deeply these influence operations reached into Washington and whether American officials understood what Beijing was attempting to accomplish.
China does not need to dictate every word published in the American press to influence public opinion. Providing access can create goodwill. Expensive travel can build useful relationships. Carefully arranged tours can determine what visiting journalists see and what remains hidden from them.
That is how influence often works. It arrives looking respectable.
Legacy media organizations should disclose which employees participated in these trips, who covered their expenses, and what conditions accompanied the visits. They should also explain whether those journalists later reported on China without informing readers about the assistance they had received.
Until those questions are answered, skepticism is entirely justified. Americans should not have to wonder whether reporting about an adversarial government was influenced by benefits that government helped provide.
This controversy also shows why independent journalism matters. Large media organizations are not automatically independent simply because they describe themselves that way. Trust must be earned through transparency, and when important relationships are concealed, that trust disappears quickly.
#ccpinfluence #mediabias #nataliewinters
