CNN this week published a report copying almost word-for-word a Chinese Communist Party press release praising the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s efforts to contain the coronavirus and degrading the U.S. Navy’s failures to do likewise.

Almost as bad as CNN's promotion of Chinese propaganda is the network's defense of its decision to run state-sponsored agitprop.

The story was a “single update from our international site’s 24-7 Live Story,” a CNN spokesman told the Daily Caller. He added, “[The story] explicitly states the sourcing as a PLA story and identifies the Global Times as ‘a state-run tabloid.’ That transparency is key as a global news source serving a global audience.”

His explanation, however, contrasts sharply with the fact that CNN has made significant edits to its report following online criticism — almost as if someone realized just how bad it looks for a supposedly serious and free news organization to repeat Chinese Communist propaganda nearly verbatim.

For starters, the headline to the CNN story originally read, “China's PLA Navy is controlling coronavirus and aircraft carrier's deployment proves it, report says.”

The opening paragraphs also read, “A Chinese naval flotilla headed into the Pacific over the weekend, evidence that the People's Liberation Army Navy has done a much better job controlling coronavirus than the US Navy, according to a story posted on the PLA's English-language website.”

The original version of the CNN report continued:

The report said that the Chinese carrier was carrying out this operation while four US Navy aircraft carriers – the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Ronald Reagan, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Nimitz – have reported cases of coronavirus, crimping their operations.



The Roosevelt, now docked in Guam, has been hit the hardest by the virus, with 585 cases among its crew of more than 4,000 people. Almost all of them have been moved ashore on the island and work is going on to disinfect the ship, delaying its ability to deploy.



The PLA Navy has no such issues, Chinese military experts told the Global Times.

Shamefully, the CNN story then uncritically quotes “Chinese military experts” who say:

"Through the voyage, the Liaoning showed that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has done a great job in the epidemic prevention and control work and COVID-19 epidemic has not had an impact on its deployment and operations," the story says, citing Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.



"It showed that the PLA can dispatch troops stationed anywhere at any time, with the troops always maintaining vigorous combat capabilities. The Chinese people can always count on them," Xu is quoted as saying.

Just so we are all on the same page: CNN reported this week that, according to Chinese officials, the Chinese military has done a better job than the U.S. Navy of controlling the viral pandemic that the Chinese government tried to cover up.

Everything about the People’s Liberation Army "report" cited by CNN screams that it is government propaganda, yet it ended up on CNN's website anyway.

How?

The original CNN story, bylined to an “international homepage editor” based at CNN’s Hong Kong bureau, was based entirely on a "news report" that appeared first on a Chinese government website. It is not the sort of place where an “international homepage editor” for a free press would normally trawl for genuine news items, unless the point was to contrast.

The author then made the judgment call that the Chinese government "report" was worthy of serious attention and news coverage, a decision that presumably required the backing of an editor. The author then wrote an article based entirely on a "report" that says the People’s Liberation Army believes the People’s Liberation Army is doing a great job. The CNN article was then (presumably) edited, double-checked by CNN web producers, and then published online. Considering the number of CNN employees who were likely involved in bringing the story to life, it is remarkable that no one flagged it for propaganda or even questioned the news value of a report that states simply that China believes China has handled the pandemic wonderfully.

A spokesman for CNN did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.

As mentioned in the above, the CNN story has undergone significant changes, including to its headline, which now reads, “Chinese state media claims country's navy is not affected by coronavirus.”

The opening paragraphs have also been heavily amended. They now read:

The coronavirus outbreak, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year, has spread to more than 180 countries and sickened close to 2 million people, including more than 80,000 in China. Yet according to the Chinese government, not a single serving member of the country's military has been infected.



The reported absence of cases among China's armed forces comes despite the fact that thousands of military personnel were sent to Wuhan to assist in front line medical efforts. It also comes in sharp contrast to other military powers, notably the United States, which have seen an uptick in cases in recent weeks.

That is not as egregious as the original version, but the updated version still quotes “Chinese military experts” who say China has done a superb job of controlling the virus.

The fact that there is not even a single, solitary reported case of coronavirus in China's military says only one thing: China is clearly lying about the severity of the viral pandemic within its borders. Amazingly, ostensibly serious and free news outlets are treating these lies as if there is some debate about whether they may be true or not.

There is no reason to trust China's government on a good day. There is even less reason to trust it on a subject where it tried to fool the world.