(5) "Freedom of speech" in name only

5．“言论自由”名不副实

In the US, the media is juxtaposed with the executive, the legislative and the judiciary as the "fourth branch of government" and journalists are considered "uncrowned kings". Though US media organizations claim to be independent from politics and serve freedom and truth, they are actually serving financial interests and party politics.

在美国，媒体被称为与行政、立法、司法三权并立的“第四权力”，记者更是被誉为“无冕之王”。美国媒体虽然标榜独立于政治、为自由和真相服务，但早已服务于金钱和党派政治。

A few media conglomerates maintain control of the US news media and have morphed into a political force with outsize influence. Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the federal government is required to relax regulation over the ownership of media outlets. This has led to an unprecedented wave of mergers and a crippling erosion of the diversity and independence of the US media. The drastic reduction in the number of media outlets has enabled a few companies to expand into monopolies. In the US, a few media conglomerates are now in control of over 90% of media outlets, netting them an annual profit even higher than the gross domestic product (GDP) of some developing countries. These media behemoths, while eager to make more business footprints, have extended their reach into American politics, attempting to sway political processes through lobbying, public relations campaign or political donations.

少数传媒集团垄断美国新闻业，成为一手遮天的政治力量。1996年美国颁布了《电信法》，要求联邦政府放松媒体所有权监管，由此掀起史无前例的兼并狂潮，对美国媒体的多样性和独立性造成毁灭性打击。随着美国媒体数量锐减，少数几家公司不断做大，形成垄断巨头。今天的美国，少数几家企业控制90%以上的媒体，年收益甚至超过某些发展中国家的经济总量。这些媒体“巨无霸”一边大肆扩张商业版图，一边将触手伸向美国政坛，通过游说公关和竞选献金左右政治进程。

The US media monopolies have become "invisible killers" of civil and political rights. Robert McChesney, a leading US scholar in the studies of political economy of communications and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, notes in his book Rich Media, Poor Democracy that media companies, profit-driven by nature, confine people to the world of entertainment programs, depriving their access to diversified information, distracting their interest in public affairs, diminishing their ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and muting their voice in the decision-making of social policies. In an American society dominated by media narratives, traditional notions of civic and political involvement have shriveled. Depoliticization has turned democracy into a political game without citizens. A report in Miami’s New Herald argues that as the media is controlled by the elite and conglomerates, people are not able to distinguish between facts and political propaganda.

被垄断的美国媒体成为公民政治权利的“隐形杀手”。美国传播政治经济学派代表人物、伊利诺伊大学香槟分校教授罗伯特·麦克切斯尼在《富媒体穷民主》一书中指出，出于追逐利润的本性，媒体公司将民众封锁在娱乐节目的世界中，使民众失去获取多元化信息的渠道、关心公共问题的兴趣以及明辨是非的能力，在社会政策制定过程中逐渐失声。民主政治文化在媒体高度发达的美国社会变得极度萎缩，“政治疏离”导致民主成为一种“没有公民”的政治游戏。迈阿密《新先驱报》报道称，在精英和财团控制的媒体诱导下，民众已无法辨别哪些是事实真相，哪些是政治宣传。

The US media is no longer a "gatekeeper" of democracy. The political wrangling between the Left and Right in the US media has further entrenched the estrangement and division between the two parties and between the elite and the mass public. It has aggravated political polarization in the US, pushing the political Left further left and the Right further right. And it has fueled the spread of extremist ideologies and populism in the US.

美国媒体不再是民主的“守门员”。媒体行业的“左右之争”无形中加深了美国两党之间、精英与平民之间的隔阂与分歧，造成“左的更左”、“右的更右”，并导致极端思想和民粹主义在美国登堂入室。

According to a study by Sejong Institute, a think tank in the Republic of Korea, over 80% of conservative voters in the US see news reports by mainstream media outlets, such as New York Times, as false information and have a biased trust in media. Voters believe in only a few media outlets and would ignore communications at the national level. Levelheaded discussions and consensus-building have been replaced by megaphone politics and negative partisan strife. The Digital News Report 2021 issued by the University of Oxford and Reuters Institute indicates that among 92,000 online news consumers surveyed in 46 markets, those in the US have the lowest level of trust in news, a mere 29%.

韩国智库世宗研究所刊文指出，超过80%的美国保守派选民将《纽约时报》等主流媒体报道视为虚假消息，对媒体的信任呈偏向性。选民只听信特定媒体，无视国家层面沟通，大喊大叫、消极党争代替了冷静讨论和共识。牛津大学－路透社新闻研究所发布《2021全球数字新闻洞察报告》指出，在对46个国家的92000名新闻消费者调查后发现，美国民众对媒体的信任度排名垫底，受调查人群中仅有29%的民众信任媒体。

In the information age when traditional media is on the decline, social media has become a new favorite for the general public. Yet, like traditional media, social media is also under the control of big capital and interest groups. To increase their website traffic, social media sites use algorithms to create "information cocoons", leaving extreme content unchecked and uncontrolled. This drives users toward self-reinforcing their existing views, exacerbates identity politics, and further divides public opinion.

在传统媒体衰落的信息时代，社交媒体一跃成为公众“新宠”，但也免不了复制传统媒体被大资本和利益集团控制的老路。社交媒体公司为了赚取流量，利用算法为用户编织起“信息茧房”，对提供的极端内容不加管控，从而导致使用者日益自我固化，身份政治和民意撕裂更加严重。

In October 2021, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen leaked tens of thousands of pages of explosive internal documents of Facebook. She disclosed to Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) that Facebook would not hesitate to sacrifice public interests to keep users on its platform and make profits. Facebook has become a main platform for social extremists and is fraught with hate speech, disinformation and misinformation. Action is only taken on 3-5% of hate and about 0.6% of violence and incitement on the platform.

2021年10月，前脸书公司员工豪根公布了数万份关于脸书公司内部运作的爆炸性文件。豪根向美国哥伦比亚广播公司透露，脸书公司为了保持用户粘度，不惜牺牲公众利益而攫取利润。脸书平台是社会极端分子的主要阵地，充斥着仇恨言论、虚假信息和错误信息，而只有3%至5%的仇恨以及约0.6%的暴力和煽动性言论得到管控。

3. Disastrous consequences of US export of its brand of democracy

（三）输出所谓民主产生恶果

Without regard to huge differences in the level of economic development and in the historical and cultural backgrounds of countries around the world, the US seeks to impose its own political system and values on other nations. It pushes for what it calls "democratic transition", and instigates "color revolution". It wantonly interferes in other countries’ internal affairs and even subverts their governments, bringing about disastrous consequences for those countries. In other words, the US has attempted to model other countries after its own image and export its brand of democracy. Such attempts are entirely undemocratic and at odds with the core values and tenets of democracy. Without producing the expected chemistry, the American-style democracy has turned out to be a "failed transplant" that plunges many regions and countries into turmoil, conflicts and wars.

美国政府不顾世界上不同国家和地区在经济发展水平和历史文化方面存在的巨大差异，将自己的政治制度和价值理念强加于人，推行“民主改造”，策划“颜色革命”，肆意干涉他国内政，甚至颠覆他国政权，造成灾难性后果。美国按照自己的形象塑造其他国家、“输出民主”的行为本身就不民主，从根本上违背了民主的核心价值理念。美式民主嫁接之地，不但没有产生“化学反应”，反而引发“水土不服”，导致许多地区和国家深陷动荡、冲突和战争泥潭。

(1) The "color revolutions" undermine regional and national stability

1．“颜色革命”危害地区和国家稳定

The US has a habit of interfering in other countries’ internal affairs in the name of "democracy" and seeking regime change to install pro-US governments. A former senior CIA official once talked about making people "what we want them to be" and "follow our directions", and the possibility of confusing people’s minds, changing their values, and making them believe in the new values before they know it. Former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo openly admitted "I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment."

美国惯于打着所谓“民主价值”的旗号，大肆干涉别国内政、甚至策动政权更迭、扶持亲美政府。前美国中央情报局高官曾宣称“把人们塑造成为我们需要的样子，让他们听我们的。只要把脑子弄乱，我们就能不知不觉改变人们的价值观念，并迫使他们相信一种经过偷换的价值观念”。美国前国务卿蓬佩奥曾公开表示：“我曾担任美国中央情报局局长。我们撒谎、我们欺骗、我们偷窃。我们还有一门课程专门来教这些。这才是美国不断探索进取的荣耀。”

The US has developed a system of strategies and tactics for "peaceful evolution". It would start with "cultural exchanges", economic assistance, and then public opinion shaping to foster an atmosphere for "color revolution". It would exaggerate the mistakes and flaws of incumbent governments to foment public grievances and anti-government sentiments. In the meantime, it would brainwash local people with American values and make them identify with America’s economic model and political system. It would also cultivate pro-US NGOs and provide all-round training to opposition leaders. It would seize the opportunity of major elections or emergencies to overthrow targeted governments through instigating street political activities.

美国已形成了一整套实施“和平演变”的套路：首先借所谓“文化交流”、经济援助、控制舆论等方式，为发动“颜色革命”制造舆论氛围，尽量夸大现政权的错误、弊端，以激起群众的不满和反政府情绪；同时，向民众灌输美国的价值观，使人们认同美国的经济政治制度；培养大量非政府组织，全方位培训反对派领导人，抓住重要选举或突发事件的时机，通过各种街头政治活动，推翻当地政权。

In recent history, the US has pushed for the neo-Monroe Doctrine in Latin America under the pretext of "promoting democracy", incited "color revolution" in Eurasia, and remotely controlled the "Arab Spring" in West Asia and North Africa. These moves have brought chaos and disasters to many countries, gravely undermining world peace, stability and development.

历史上，美国借“推广民主”之名在拉美推行“新门罗主义”，在欧亚地区煽动“颜色革命”，在西亚北非国家遥控“阿拉伯之春”，给多国带来混乱和灾难，严重损害世界和平、稳定和发展。

In Latin America and the Caribbean, people have long been under no illusion about "the American-style democracy". Any attempt of the US to promote its self-styled "model of democracy" would be only self-defeating and self-humiliating. In 1823, the US issued the Monroe Doctrine, declaring "America for the Americans" and advocating "Pan-Americanism". In the following decades, the US, under the excuse of "spreading democracy", repeatedly carried out political interference, military intervention, and government subversion in Latin America and the Caribbean. The US pursued a policy of hostility toward socialist Cuba and imposed blockade against the country for nearly 60 years, and subverted the government of Chile under Salvador Allende. These were blatant acts of hegemonism. "My way or no way." That’s the US logic.

在拉美和加勒比地区，“美式民主”的美颜滤镜早已破碎，美国“民主典范”的自我表演充满了尴尬。1823年，美国发表“门罗宣言”，宣称“美洲是美洲人的美洲”，鼓噪“泛美主义”。此后，美国无数次打着“传播民主”的旗号，对拉美和加勒比地区进行政治干涉、军事介入和政权颠覆。无论是敌视封锁社会主义古巴近60年，还是颠覆智利阿连德政府等，都是“顺我者昌，逆我者亡”的霸权行径。

Since 2003, Eastern Europe and Central Asia have seen the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia, the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine, and the "Tulip Revolution" in Kyrgyzstan. The US State Department openly admitted playing a "central role" in these "regime changes". In October 2020, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service revealed that the US planned to instigate "color revolution" in Moldova.

2003年起，东欧、中亚地区接连发生格鲁吉亚“玫瑰革命”、乌克兰“橙色革命”和吉尔吉斯斯坦“郁金香革命”。美国国务院公开承认在这些“政权更迭”中发挥了“中心作用”。2020年10月，俄罗斯对外情报局披露美国计划在摩尔多瓦掀起“颜色革命”。

The "Arab Spring" that started in 2010 was an earthquake that shook the entire Middle East. The US orchestrated the show behind the scene, and played a key role. The New York Times revealed in 2011 that a small core of American government-financed organizations were promoting democracy in "authoritarian" Arab states. A number of the groups and individuals directly involved in the "Arab Spring" revolts received training and financing from US organizations like the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House. Mustafa Ahmady, an African and international affairs specialist in Ethiopia, contributed an article to Ahram Online entitled "Promised Lands", explaining that it was largely due to Obama’s famous statement "Now means now" that furious Egyptian protesters overthrew Mubarak, and that they paid a heavy price as a result of the political change. Seeing what the US had done, the Arab people have come to realize that the US wants to force a stereotyped model of democracy on them regardless of their own will.

始于2010年的“阿拉伯之春”造成整个中东地区的强烈震荡，而美国在其中扮演着幕后“操盘手”的重要角色。2011年《纽约时报》披露，少数由美国政府资助的核心组织正在“专制的”阿拉伯国家推广民主。参与“阿拉伯之春”的若干组织和个人曾从美国“国际共和研究所”“国际事务民主协会”和“自由之家”获得培训和资助。埃塞俄比亚非洲和国际事务专家穆斯塔法·阿哈马迪在“金字塔在线”网站发表文章《应许之地》指出，埃及人民在奥巴马“现在就意味着现在”的口号煽动下推翻了穆巴拉克，但埃及人民也因政局变动付出了沉重代价。美国的所作所为使阿拉伯人民认识到，美国希望将一种刻板的民主模式强加于阿拉伯人，而不管他们的意愿如何。

In countries forced to copy and paste American values, there is no sign of true democracy, true freedom, or true human rights. What have been left in these countries are prevailing scenes of persisting chaos, stagnation and humanitarian disasters. The US export of its values has disrupted the normal development process in the recipient countries, hindered their search for a development path and model befitting their national conditions, brought political, economic and social turmoils, and destroyed, one after another, what used to be other peoples’ beautiful homelands. The turmoils, in turn, have given rise to terrorism and other long-term challenges that threaten and jeopardize regional and even global security. As suggested by the French website Le Grand Soir, democracy has long become a weapon of massive destruction for the US to attack countries with different views.

环顾被美国强行“推销”价值观的国家，真正的民主、自由、人权不见踪迹，持久混乱、发展停滞和人道主义灾难却随处可见。美国对多国的价值观输出，阻断了这些国家正常的发展进程，阻碍了这些国家探索适合本国国情的发展道路和模式，给当地带来政治、经济、社会的强烈动荡，毁灭了一个个曾经美好的家园，滋生恐怖主义等长期后患，威胁和破坏地区乃至全球安全。正如法国《大晚报》所指出的，“民主”在美国手中早已成为对异见国家的“大规模杀伤性武器”。

The US applies different standards in assessing democracy of its own and other countries. It praises or belittles others entirely according to its own likes or dislikes. Following the Capitol attack on 6 January 2021, an American politician compared the incident of violence to the 9/11 terror attack, calling it a "shameful assault" on the US Congress, constitution and democracy. It is ironic that in June 2019 the same politician called the violent demonstrations at the Hong Kong Legislative Council building as a "beautiful sight to behold" and commended the rioters for their "courage". What a blatant double standard.

美国在评价国内外民主方面秉持不同标准，是褒是贬由美国自说自话、随心所欲。2021年1月6日，美国发生冲闯国会山事件后，有位美国政客将其比作“9·11”恐怖袭击，声称这是对美国国会、宪法和民主“可耻的攻击”。但讽刺的是，2019年6月，此人却将发生在香港立法会的暴力示威活动描绘成“一道美丽的风景线”，并对暴徒展现出的“勇气”大加赞赏，暴露出赤裸裸的“双重标准”。