Current Status: Active

ANO TV-Novosti

Written by Editors on April 20, 2025.

ANO TV-Novosti is the parent company of RT (formerly Russia Today), registered as an “autonomous non-profit organization” on 6 April 2005 in Moscow with registration number 1057746595367. The organization was founded by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and operates from 111020 Moscow, Borovaya Street 3, Building 1. ANO TV-Novosti has been sanctioned by multiple jurisdictions including the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ukraine, and Australia for its role in spreading propaganda. According to EU sanctions documentation, TV-Novosti is “funded from the federal budget of the Russian Federation” and has “consistently spread pro-Kremlin propaganda and disinformation, and supported Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” The sanctions restrict its media operations internationally, with the EU Council imposing a ban on RT‘s broadcasting activities in March 2022. Despite these restrictions, research organizations have documented that RT continues to circumvent sanctions through mirror websites and alternative domains.

Bangkok Post

Written by Editors on April 14, 2025.

The Bangkok Post, founded on August 1, 1946, is Thailand’s oldest English-language newspaper still in publication. Published in broadsheet and digital formats, it maintains a daily circulation of 110,000 copies with 80 percent distributed in Bangkok. The newspaper was established by former OSS officer Alexander MacDonald and Thai associate Prasit Lulitanond (ประสิทธิ์ ลุลิตานนท์), initially selling for one baht per four-page issue. Now owned by Bangkok Post Public Company Limited (SET: POST), whose major shareholders include the Chirathivat family, South China Morning Post, and GMM Grammy, the publication employs journalists, including foreign nationals. The Bangkok Post is widely considered Thailand’s newspaper of record and portrays itself as comparatively free in a country where media censorship is common, though critics have noted instances of self-censorship on sensitive topics. The South China Morning Post, founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai (謝纘泰) and Alfred Cunningham, was acquired by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group (阿里巴巴集團) in 2015 for $266 million.

Secretariat of Media and Public Communication

Written by Editors on April 12, 2025.

Argentina’s Federal System of Public Media and Content (Sistema Federal de Medios y Contenidos Públicos) was created on December 10, 2015, through Decree 12/2015 under President Mauricio Macri. Initially headed by Hernán Lombardi, the system oversees Argentina’s public media ecosystem, including Télam news agency, public television and radio networks, digital channels, and cultural centers. In 2018, it was downgraded from ministerial status to secretariat level. Following President Javier Milei’s inauguration in December 2023, the secretariat was transferred to the Communication and Press Secretariat of the Presidency through Decree 45/2023. The entity manages platforms including TV Pública, Radio Nacional, and the Centro Cultural Kirchner.

Phoenix Media Investment Holdings Limited

Written by Editors on April 10, 2025.

Phoenix Media Investment Holdings Limited is a multinational media corporation headquartered in Hong Kong, with major operations in Beijing and Shenzhen. The company operates six satellite television channels targeting global Chinese audiences. The company was founded on March 31, 1996, by Liu Changle (劉長樂), initially through a joint venture between his Today’s Asia Limited company, Hong Kong Satellite Television, and Huaying International. Liu, who previously served as a journalist and senior manager at China Central Radio before moving overseas in 1988, established Phoenix TV with the mission of “reducing the distance within the global Chinese community”. The company went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2000. Following the 2021 sale of Liu’s controlling stake, the company’s largest shareholder is now Bauhinia Culture Holdings (紫荊文化集團) with 21 percent, a Beijing-backed cultural enterprise directly owned by China’s central government, while Shun Tak Holdings (信德集團) owns 16.93 percent.

Independent Media

Written by Editors on April 10, 2025.

Independent Media is a South African multi-platform media company that publishes several influential newspapers, including the daily newspapers Cape Times, Cape Argus, The Star, Pretoria News, and Isolezwe, and operates the news website Independent Online. The company has substantial Chinese state investment through Interacom Investment Holding Limited, which represents China International Television Corporation (中國國際電視總公司), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Central Television that distributes television content, and the China-Africa Development Fund (中非發展基金), an state-run PRC investment fund established in 2007. Founded initially as the Argus Publishing Group with the launch of the Cape Argus in 1857, the company was purchased by the Sekunjalo Independent Media Consortium in August 2013 for 175 US million dollars. The ownership structure includes Sagarmatha Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of the Sekunjalo Group, which holds 55 percent; the Public Investment Corporation, which owns 25 percent; and the Chinese entities, which together have the remaining 20 percent through Interacom.

Chongqing Jiazuo Film and Culture Media

Written by Editors on April 9, 2025.

Established in Chongqing, Jiazuo Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd., specializes in film production, distribution, digital cultural creative activities, and broadcast media services. The company is headquartered in Building 7 of Jingyu International Cultural and Creative Park in Jiulongpo District. With a registered capital of 5 million yuan, the firm is majority-owned by CEO Zuo Yue (左越), with 80 percent, and Yin Boyu (尹博宇) as a minority shareholder with 20 percent. While there is no evidence of direct state involvement in Jiazuo Film and Television Culture Media, the company has been involved in international content distribution with explicit governmental involvement. The company has participated in the “China Time Slot” initiative in Peru and Colombia, facilitating the distribution of Chinese visual content abroad. The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) pushed these initiatives “under the auspices of the National Radio and Television Administration and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government.” The NRTA, a ministry-level agency controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, has promoted international cooperation and exchange in radio, television, and online audio-visual content. In November 2024, Jiazuo signed a trilateral cooperation agreement with Peru’s Willax TV and Classic Media China International Ltd. to expand Chongqing’s film and television industry in the Latin American market.

Cyberspace Administration of China

Written by Editors on April 9, 2025.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, established in May 2011 as the State Internet Information Office, functions as China’s powerful internet regulator and censor. Now serving as the executive arm of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (chaired by Xi Jinping), the CAC implements far-reaching censorship, regulates internet content, and oversees data security policies. Led by Zhuang Rongwen (庄榮文), who concurrently serves as a deputy head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (officially translated as “Publicity Department”), the agency exercises extensive powers through the 2016 Cybersecurity Law and 2021 Data Security Law. The CAC’s activities include censoring “rumors,” controlling cross-border data transfers, requiring pre-review of online comments, ensuring AI systems uphold Communist Party ideology, and maintaining majority ownership in the China Internet Investment Fund (中國互聯網投資基金), which holds stakes in major tech companies like ByteDance and Weibo through “golden shares.”

Thailand TV5

Written by Editors on April 9, 2025.

Thailand TV5, officially the Royal Thai Army Radio and Television Station, is Thailand’s second-oldest television station, launched in January 1958 by the Royal Thai Army. Owned and operated by the Royal Thai Army, the network is headquartered at 210 Phaholyothin Road in Phaya Thai District, Bangkok. Originally known as HSA-TV Channel 7, the station transitioned to color broadcasting and adopted the Channel 5 name in 1974. Academic research notes that Thailand’s “Army Signal Corps and MCOT operate Channels 5 and 9” within the country’s military-controlled broadcasting structure. Channel 5 ceased analog broadcasting in 2018 as part of Thailand’s digital television transition. The station broadcasts news, military affairs programming, documentaries, drama series, and variety shows to audiences nationwide.