EXPERIENCE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN COUNTERING WESTERN FAKE NEWS

Aim. To analyze the formation and evaluation of measures taken by the PRC government in the field of counteracting Western fake news.

Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is institutional and structural-functional methods. The process of creating a legislative framework to counter Western fake news was assessed according to several criteria: the role of the state in regulating the information space, the working with the population, as well as the applicability of measures to regions that are not part of mainland China, but are included in its zone of interests and security (Hong Kong, Taiwan). The empirical basis of the study was the analysis of political cases of the current century beginning, as well as the recent past.

Results. It has been established that the measures taken by the PRC government can be described as extremely effective within the framework of mainland China. Several factors contributed to the success: the beginning of the creation of a legislative framework that regulates the Internet space at the time of its formation, as well as the ability of the government to work together with large businesses that provide domestic analogues of Western products, which activities cannot be continued on the territory of the country. Despite significant effectiveness, the methods of countering the PRC are one-sided, that is, based solely on the strategy of prohibitions and sanctions. This tactic is not suitable for such regions as Taiwan and Hong Kong. China also suffers from poor representation of its own position in Western sources. Based on the articles of Chinese researchers, it is concluded that in the future the policy of the PRC in the information security field will carry out its systematic external development.

Research implications. The study gives an idea of the process of the PRC forming measures to counter Western fake news. The authors provide an explanation of the success of the Chinese legislative framework regulating the state information space. The problems that the PRC is experiencing in terms of information security are also indicated: isolation on the policy of prohibitions, lack of skills in working with external users. In the context of the information war with the West, the experience of China can also be extremely useful for the Russian Federation which enables us to talk about the possibility to partially implement the similar regulatory measures in our country. In particular, the article provides examples of interaction between the PRC government and representatives of big capital, aimed at strengthening the information security of the country. However, Beijing's experience is very specific, as most of the reforms were carried out during a period of relatively low spread of the Internet, which did not cause public protest. However, some aspects of Chinese policy can be successfully applied in our country as well. The main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in teaching a number of political disciplines.

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