当北京冬奥进入中段时，西方的英文媒体也在竞逐，看看哪家在以冬奥抹黑中国上赢得“金牌”。
在北京冬奥会前夕，我们可看到来自西方印刷和网络媒体报导所强调的是，为何中国不配举办冬奥会。赛前抨击报导集中在宣传美国和一些西方盟国对北京冬奥会的外交抵制。这个试图阻止世界各国参与中国首办的冬奥会举动可谓是失败的。
共有来自91个国家的2800名运动员参与本届冬奥会，这仅比2018年平昌冬奥会创纪录的92个参与国家少一个。
就如“一起向未来”本届冬奥会主题口号，北京冬奥会应是一个促进世界各国一起，在和平友好下竞技的盛会。正如国际奥林匹克委员会主席托马斯巴赫在2月4日的冬奥会开幕仪式上指出：
“我们所在的这个世界是脆弱的，分裂、冲突和猜疑正在日益升级。我们要向世界证明，竞争激烈的对手也能够和平共处，彼此尊重。这就是奥林匹克运动会的使命，让人们在和平竞争当中团结一心。搭建沟通的桥梁，而不是筑起一道道高墙。让我们保留多样性的同时，把我们团结在一起。”
巴赫在演讲中提到了奥林匹克停战的精神，并呼吁“全世界各国政府：遵守您对奥林匹克休战的承诺。给和平一个机会”
西方媒体能否给和平机会
不幸的是，这项和平或至少休战的呼吁，于西方媒体对冬奥会的报导中荡然无存。众所周知，媒体对国家和社会能带来团结或分裂作用。那么我们可从西方媒体对北京冬奥会报导中发现什么现象？
如果仔细研究西方媒体迄今对冬奥会的报导，可发现以下趋势：强调西方价值观和制度的优越性、反华议程、种族主义色彩和缺乏独立和基于事实的报导。
这一结果还是基于美国和英国据称更值得信赖的自由和进步媒体中出现的内容。
值得注意的是，美国等国家的媒体报导，不断强调他们的诚信、独立、透明度和对新闻道德的承诺。此外，具有全球影响力的媒体公司也强调他们是以反映全球多元化观点的方式来报导课题和事件。他们还声称他们的报导是为了帮助不同的国家和社会更好地相互了解。
目前我们从西方媒体对北京冬奥会报导中可以看到，这与他们强调的理想形成了鲜明的对比。这些西方媒体更偏重于炒作新闻和资讯，以削弱中国作为一个崛起中全球大国的地位，并确保美国和西方盟国在世界上的霸权和主导地位。
因此，从比赛的各个方面，不管是新闻或事态发展：从使用人造雪，天气，点燃冬奥主火炬维吾尔族越野滑雪运动员迪妮格尔衣拉木江，冬奥餐饮，新冠疫情隔离要求，谷爱凌的成功，朱易的失败，中国社交媒体上的一些回应等……成了炒作和丑化东道国、中国人和中国选手的手段。
丑化中国奖牌榜
西方媒体发起的反华宣传战并非新鲜事。其在特朗普任美国总统期间显著成形，并陆续出现在西方主要媒体对于中国报导中——如美国有线电视新闻网络（CNN）、《纽约时报》、《华盛顿邮报》、《每日邮报》、雅虎、《卫报》，以及类似BBC（英国广播公司）、CBC（加拿大广播公司）和ABC（澳洲广播公司）等相关官方媒体，这也包括了盟国的媒体，如日本的 《日本经济新闻》和印度的《印度时报》和《印度》（The Hindu）。
这些媒体以秃鹰捕猎方式来审视冬奥，以挑出可打击的受害者，进而支持他们以冷战为导向的新闻报导。
以下为北京冬奥会期间西方媒体在丑化中国的“奖牌”得主名单：
金牌: 美国有线电视新闻网络（CNN）。其有能力编造煽动人心的故事，例如《名望与愤怒：中国人对美国出生的（华人）奥运选手截然不同的反应》，通过精选引用来自中国社交媒体上极端民族主义声音，毫不掩饰地对中国抹黑。美国有线电视新闻网络关于中国的报导，总是援引来自反华智库鹰派和“专家”，这个利润丰厚行业的“证据”来美化，以显示公正性。
银牌：雅虎。雅虎本身虽然在反华报导上并不显著，但其聚合了大量其他新闻机构的反华报导，并且可能是反华报导上最多的西方媒体新闻聚合器。依据网络流量分析公司Alexa的数据，雅虎新闻网站每日新闻报导中，中国新闻往往占据世界新闻的一半或更多，这让雅虎新闻网站在全球新闻网站中排名第六，领先于福克斯新闻（FoxNews），排在美国有线电视新闻网络（CNN）之后。
铜牌：英国广播公司（BBC），其声称公正和独立，为世界各地人们提供信息、教育和娱乐的内容，在抹黑中国榜上排在美国同行之后。根据最近一位审查员的说法，BBC在丑化中国内容中的强项，包括：“在某些课题上过度报导；粗暴情绪化的标题和倾向于一种观点的内容；完全没有报导另一方的观点；持续使用来自有议程的机构之资讯，没有透明或平衡报导；报导模式往往可看出，是在重复伦敦和华盛顿的某些外交政策发展或目标方向；滥用BBC体育平台等非政治媒体来推动某些观点。”
林德宜《北京冬奥：抹黑中国的西方媒体奖牌榜》原文：Beijing Olympics: Western Media China Bashing Medal Winners
As the Beijing Olympics reaches its mid way point, competition is taking place among the English-language western media to see which can win the gold medal for using the sporting event to engage in China bashing.
In the runup up to the Games we had reports from the western media print and web outlets emphasising why China does not deserve to host the games. Pre-game bashing coverage focused on publicising the games diplomatic boycott by the United States and a few western allies. This initial attempt to discourage the nations of the world from participating in China’s first winter olympics failed miserably.
Altogether 2,800 athletes from 91 countries are taking part - only one nation less than the record 92 taking part in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics.
With its optimistic motto, “Together for a shared future”, the Beijing Olympics should be an occasion to bring the countries of the world together in peace and friendly competition.
As aptly summarised in the address of International Olympic President Thomas Bach during the games opening ceremony on 4 February.
“In our fragile world, where division, conflict and mistrust are on the rise, we show the world: yes, it is possible to be fierce rivals, while at the same time living peacefully and respectfully together.
This is the mission of the Olympic Games: bringing us together in peaceful competition. Always building bridges, never erecting walls. Uniting humankind in all our diversity”
In his speech, Bach referred to the Olympic spirit of truce and appealed to “all political authorities across the world: observe your commitment to this Olympic Truce. Give peace a chance”
Can Western Media Give Peace a Chance
Unfortunately this appeal for peace or at least a truce has been lost on the western media covering the Games
It is well recognised that the media is a key force that can help bring nations and communities together or keep them apart. So what can we find from western media coverage of the Beijing Olympics?
A close examination of what the western media has produced on the games to date shows the following tendencies:
●An emphasis on the superiority of western based values and systems
●An anti China agenda
●Racist undertones
●A thin layer of independent and fact based reporting
This finding is based on what has appeared in the reputedly more trustworthy liberal and progressive media in the US and Britain.
What is important to note too is that media reporting in countries such as the United States harp on their integrity, independence, transparency and commitment to journalistic ethics. In addition, media companies having a global reach emphasise that they report issues and events in a way that reflects the global plurality of views. They also claim that their stories are to help different countries and communities understand each other better.
For now what we can see from the western media’s Beijing games coverage is a sharp contrast to these ideals. The emphasis is on manipulation of stories and information aimed at bringing down China as a rising global power so as to ensure the supremacy and dominance of the US and western allies in the world.
Thus every aspect, news and development of the games - use of artificial snow, the weather, the choice of Uighur cross country skier, Dinigeer Yilamujiang as final torch bearer, the meals served, Covid quarantine requirements, the success of Gu Ailing, the failure of Zhu Yi, the response of segments of Chinese social media - has been subject to efforts to sensationalise and to reinforce negative views of the host nation, its citizenry and the athletes associated with China.
This anti-China propagandistic war waged by western media is nothing new. It emerged prominently during Trump’s period of office and continues in the China reporting of the leading western media - CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Daily Mail, Yahoo, the Guardian and associated state media such as Britain’s BBC, Canada’s CBC, and Australia’s ABC as well as allied media from Japan such as Nikkei Asia and India’s The Times of India and The Hindu.
All of them have scouted the games in buzzard-like fashion to pick out victims that can support their cold war oriented journalism and targeting.
Meantime here is a list of the medal winners in Western media China bashing during the Beijing Winter Olympics
Medal Winners in China Bashing
Gold Medal
CNN for its ability to fashion heart tugging stories such as “Fame and fury: China's wildly different reactions to US-born Olympians” with its barely concealed critique of the country emerging through the insertion of select choice ultra nationalistic voices from Chinese social media. CNN reports on China are always embellished by ‘evidence’ from the lucrative industry of anti-China think tank hawks and ‘experts’ to provide a show of impartiality.
Silver Medal
Yahoo, although not outstanding in its own anti-China reporting, draws from a large number of other news agencies and is possibly the top most western media news aggregator on anti-China material. Daily coverage of China often takes up half or more of the news of the world and gives Yahoo! News sixth ranking among global news sites, ahead of Fox News and behind CNN, according to Alexa, the web traffic analysis company.
Bronze Medal
BBC, which claims to be impartial and independent with content to inform, educate and entertain people around the world, runs a close third to its US counterparts. According to one recent examiner, the organisation’s strong points in its China bashing content include: “overreporting on certain topics; atrocity-driven emotional headlines and content with a slant to only one point of view; a total absence of the other side of the argument; a continual use of sources from agenda-driven institutions without disclosure or balance; identifiable patterns in the output of reporting that conveniently overlap with certain foreign policy developments or objectives of London and Washington; abuse of non-political mediums such as BBC Sport to push certain points”.
