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Entity Type: Domestic Media Company

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Founded on November 1, 1949, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is one of Germany’s most influential daily newspapers. The newspaper states on its website that its values are independence, thoroughly researched facts, precise analyses, and insightful commentary. The publication reaches an estimated 818,000 readers daily. The FAZ, as the outlet can be called, has also established a strong digital presence through FAZ.NET, numerous apps, and podcasts. The outlet generally rates strongly for its professionalism, receiving a “High” rating for factual reporting from the independent site Media Bias/Fact Check. But nor has it been free of controversy. In 2014, former FAZ journalist Udo Ulfkotte, who worked at the paper from 1986 to 2003, published a book questioning the paper’s independence and claiming he and other journalists published material provided by US intelligence agencies; however, another German daily, Der Spiegel reported that critics viewed Ulfkotte’s book as “a vendetta against the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which he left on bad terms,” and noted it was published by a publisher known for conspiracy theory content. 

Mediaset Spain

Mediaset Spain (Mediaset España), formally known as Grupo Audiovisual Mediaset España Comunicación, opened in Madrid on March 10, 1989, and began broadcasting in 1990 as Tele 5. Mediaset España operates seven free-to-air television channels and has expanded beyond broadcasting into advertising sales through Publiespaña, film production via Telecinco Cinema, and public relations consulting. In 2023, the broadcaster joined a group of Spanish media in broadcasting “China-Spain Cultural Journey” (中西文化之旅), a series of programs marking the 50th anniversary of China-Spain diplomatic relations, organized between Spain’s Ministry of Culture and the China Media Group (CMG), the mega-conglomerate under China’s Central Propaganda Department. 

EI 33

El 33 is Catalonia’s second public television channel, belonging to Televisió de Catalunya, a subsidiary of the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA). Created in September 1988, the channel broadcasts exclusively in Catalan and focuses on cultural programming, including documentaries, science, and the arts. El 33 offers programs that complement TV3’s content, catering to specialized audiences with educational and cultural interests while experimenting with new audiovisual formats. 

El Debate

El Debate is a Spanish Catholic newspaper originally founded in 1910 and published in Madrid until 1936, when it ceased publication at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The newspaper was relaunched on October 1, 2021, as a digital publication under the direction of Bieito Rubido, former director of the national newspaper ABC, and financed by the Asociación Católica de Propagandistas. The relaunched publication covers Spanish affairs, international issues, economy, society, culture, and religion. According to its director, El Debate advocates for “the defense of the unity of Spain, the constitutional order, the family and the monarchy,” as well as Christian values. 

Cuatro

Cuatro is a Spanish free-to-air television channel that launched on November 7, 2005. The channel broadcasts news, entertainment shows, reality programs, series, documentaries, and sports content. The channel is owned by Mediaset España Comunicación, part of the Italian Mediaset media conglomerate.  

Agencia EFE

Agencia EFE is Spain’s state-owned news agency, officially on January 3, 1939 during the Spanish Civil War. The agency provides comprehensive news coverage across politics, economics, culture, and sports in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and English. EFE operates with more than 3,000 journalists from 60 countries distributed across over 180 cities, working 24 hours daily from five editorial departments in Madrid, Bogotá, Cairo (Arabic service), Rio de Janeiro (Portuguese service), and Bangkok (English multimedia service). 

La República (Costa Rica)

La República is a national daily newspaper published in San José, Costa Rica, operated by República Media Group. The newspaper, founded in August 1950, specializes in coverage of business, economics, finance, politics, infrastructure, technology, health, and sports, positioning itself as a reference publication for Costa Rica’s professional sector. La República has covered stories including a 2000 plane crash involving former CIA Chief Stansfield Turner and the 2021 exposure of fake COVID-19 tests sold to tourists. The newspaper maintains a regular content arrangement with China’s official Xinhua News Agency, republishing Chinese state media content with pro-state bias including government propaganda. In 2013, the newspaper began charging for online subscriptions. La República maintains both print and digital editions.

Cambodia-China Times

The Cambodia China Times (柬中時報) was launched as an online-only digital venture by Phlong Vichet after leaving the Commercial News. Vichet, who had worked at Chinese-language newspapers in Cambodia for over a decade, soft-launched the platform in January 2018 to serve the growing Chinese investor and tourist community. The publication received its news website operating license from Cambodia’s Ministry of Information on February 8, 2018, making it the first new media outlet established by Cambodian Chinese. The platform launched mobile applications for Android and iOS in July 2018, and in 2020 expanded to include a Khmer-language section.

La República

La República is a Uruguayan newspaper first published May 3, 1988, and distributed nationwide. Founded by Federico Fasano Mertens, the independent daily provides thoughtful analysis and coverage of social, political topics across Uruguay. Fasano Mertens and his brother Carlos Fasano Mertens (the newspaper’s editor) were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in May 1996 for publishing articles about alleged corruption by Paraguay’s president, prompting Amnesty International to designate both as prisoners of conscience for “peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.” The newspaper reports a digital subscription base of 120,000 users with 25 percent residing outside Uruguay, and operates with an international network of collaborators reporting from Argentina, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Australia, Italy, and the United States. La República has maintained a cooperative relationship with Chinese state media since at least 2023, with publisher Juan Blanco describing in a September 2023 People’s Daily interview how China “chose our media outlet” for a special publication on China-Uruguay diplomatic relations, sent a La República journalist for training in Beijing, and provided access to the Belt and Road News Network — a BRI news service operated by the People’s Daily and hosted on its name servers — for “first-hand information from a truthful, reliable source.” Blanco emphasized that cooperation should not be hindered by ideological differences, stating media relationships form “the first encounter” of China-Uruguay information exchange. Blanco participated in the February 2026 Belt and Road Media Cooperation Forum journalist delegation.