China spreads misinformation in response to Japan’s nuclear wastewater release

China’s accusation that Japan is spending hundreds of millions of dollars of “publicity fund” to whitewash the release was based on a distorted interpretation of news reports.

Misinformation that Japan is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into manipulating public opinions about its release of nuclear wastewater has been spreading on China’s internet since the discharge started in Fukushima on August 24.

The misinformation was first posted by an influential social media account tied to state media and has been shared and repeated by nationalist netizens, commentators and even a spokesperson at China’s foreign ministry.

The accusation states that Japan’s foreign ministry has a 70-billion-yen budget (approximately 480 million US dollars) to spend on “handling negative news” about the Fukushima nuclear wastewater release plan.

The original poster is a self-claimed “senior reporter on politics and economy” and has a Weibo account with over 2.5 million followers. In a graphic, the poster, whose account name is Yuyuan Tantian (玉渊谭天), called the fund “publicity fee” and claimed that the Japanese government is spending more money on publicity than on the water release itself.

Yuyuan Tantian cited Japan’s public broadcaster NHK as its source. But the original NHK story as well as other news reports from Japan on the so-called 70 billion yen fund state that the money is part of the Japanese foreign ministry’s budget request for the next fiscal year. And the 70 billion yen, if approved, would be used to “tackle disinformation often spread by China and Russia” through enhancing the using of artificial intelligence.

While part of the money would be for countering criticism made by China on the water release, no evidence shows that it will take up all of the 70-billion-yen budget or that it would be done through manipulating public opinions.

Yuyuan Tantian is active on multiple social media platforms in China, but they don’t disclose whom they work for in any of the bios. On the outside, they are just an independent reporter who covers important political and international affairs and provides analysis and comments that just happen to be in line with official narratives.

But according to a 2018 WeChat article posted by a Chinese government publication, Yuyuan Tantian was created by China’s central television station (CCTV) to broaden its propaganda influence in the era of self-media.

The misinformation of the so-called publicity fee has been spreading like wildfire on China’s internet in the past week. Nationalist commentators and netizens use it to discredit anyone who defends Japan’s plan or criticize the reactionary nationalism. Some even called for collecting the names of those who oppose China’s position and inform the authorities because they could be on Japan’s’ payroll.

The impact of the misinformation has reached a peak point when, on Wednesday, Hua Chunying, a prominent spokesperson at China’s foreign ministry, repeated it on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“If the water is indeed harmless, why has Japan launched an allegedly JPY 70 bln (USD 48mln) publicity campaign to sell the ocean discharge plan to the public,” She asked.

Japan’s release plan was approved by International Atomic Energy Agency and deemed safe for humans and the environment. But China distrusts Japan’s data and accuses it of destroying the ocean. The nationalism among Chinese ignited by the release has led to boycotts of Japanese brands. Stones were reportedly thrown at the Japanese embassy and schools in China.

It’s not the first time that the Chinese foreign ministry makes outrageous accusations of other countries using misinformation. Just earlier this year, China claimed that the US has developed genetic weapons that target the “Chinese race” and that President Biden has a plan to destroy Taiwan. When Covid first broke out in China, a former foreign minstry spokesperson repeatedly claimed that the virus was brought to China by US military personnel.