Ted Cruz Moves to Shut Down Chinese Propaganda Exploiting U.S. Loopholes; Set to Introduce Legislation

While President Trump fights against fake news in the media, Ted Cruz is poised to fight against fake news from China.

His proposed bill would not allow Chinese outlets to broadcast in North America using Canadian or Mexican airwaves.

Fox News has more details on how Cruz intends to close FCC loopholes:

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced Friday that he intends to introduce legislation that would prevent outlets -- like China's Phoenix TV -- from using Canadian or Mexican stations to spread foreign propaganda across U.S. airwaves.

The move comes as the U.S. has criticized the Chinese government for its role in spreading disinformation about the coronavirus, which is thought to have originated in a lab in Wuhan. Cruz's office specifically mentioned Phoenix TV, which is reportedly using a Mexican broadcast tower to transmit Chinese propaganda into the U.S.

According to a press release, this particular legislation would amend communications law in a way that would preclude the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from granting licenses to "broadcast applicants who intend to change the language of the station they are purchasing, unless the FCC can certify that the programming of the station will never be influenced by a foreign government or governing party."

"China should not be able to set up shop in Mexico and blanket America with propaganda," Cruz said in the press release.

"Every year, the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] spends billions of dollars purchasing news outlets and waging information warfare to extend the reach of its propaganda and whitewash the unflattering and politically inconvenient truths about its totalitarian regime."

He added: "We are seeing this play out right now as news outlets across the country parrot Chinese talking points about the coronavirus pandemic -- a pandemic that could have prevented. I look forward to introducing this legislation when Congress returns and closing FCC loopholes that allow China to wage their information warfare from across the border in Mexico."

Phoenix TV previously caught attention when Trump questioned one of its reporters at a press briefing earlier in April on the coronavirus.

"Sounds like a statement more than a question," Trump said at the time. The reporter went on to cite a Chinese ambassador's op-ed calling for cooperation with the United States. "Are you personally working directly with China?" she asked.

After Trump cited his trade agreement with China, the reporter again asked whether he was cooperating with China. "Who are you working for? China?" Trump responded.

Phoenix TV is partially owned by a company backed by China's government, and U.S. intelligence has reportedly identified the station as a propaganda outlet.

As the world grapples with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has been attempting to blame the United States for the virus.

Of course, the virus originated and spread from Wuhan, China.

But that didn't stop some Chinese officials from spreading propaganda claiming that the U.S. military developed the virus and attempted to frame China.

There is no evidence to support that conspiracy theory.

The Free Beacon reports that the case of Phoenix TV was not an accident or mere coincidence.

Loopholes allowed Phoenix TV to use Mexican radio towers to broadcast Chinese propaganda into the U.S.

Should Cruz's proposed bill pass, airwaves from Canada and Mexico cannot be used to broadcast foreign propaganda into our borders.

According to the Free Beacon:

Phoenix TV drew the ire of Republican lawmakers and others earlier this year when one of its reporters confronted President Donald Trump during a White House briefing about the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers such as Cruz raised objections to the White House granting access to a reporter working for an adversarial regime.

Phoenix TV has used Mexican radio towers to skirt U.S. laws barring the dissemination of foreign propaganda in America and broadcast state propaganda throughout Southern California, sources said.

The effort to shut down Phoenix TV's radio affiliate is just one of many current efforts in Congress to combat Chinese propaganda in light of its efforts to deceive the world about the origin and spread of coronavirus. Other legislative efforts seek to hold China financially accountable for allowing the virus to spread across the globe.

Cruz's bill would close existing loopholes in U.S. law by banning the Federal Communications Commission from granting licenses to any person who intends to change the language of the station they are purchasing. In Phoenix TV's case, the outlet's affiliates applied for an FCC license and then began broadcasting propaganda in Chinese once it assumed control of the Mexico-based radio towers, located near Tijuana.

While the FCC has not granted the license, the station has continued to operate on a temporary license. After initially assuming control of the station, the new owners switched it from Spanish to Chinese-language programming; it is now heard across Southern California.

If approved, Cruz's bill would ensure the FCC does not grant the station a license, effectively shutting down Phoenix TV's U.S. broadcasts.

"China should not be able to set up shop in Mexico and blanket America with propaganda. Every year, the [Chinese Communist Party] spends billions of dollars purchasing news outlets and waging information warfare to extend the reach of its propaganda and whitewash the unflattering and politically inconvenient truths about its totalitarian regime," Cruz told the Free Beacon.

Considering that Democrats were against Russian interference, they should support Cruz's effort to stop foreign propaganda from entering the United States.

Making sure that only factual news is reported is critical to maintaining and preserving our democracy.

The new bill would ban licenses for broadcasts from Canada or Mexico unless the FCC can guarantee that the station is completely free from foreign government interference.