Editor's Note: Liu Jianxi is an opinion editor with CGTN Digital. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

No one would deny that the U.S. tops the charts in terms of economic size, military strength and technological expertise, but many seem to have ignored the fact that the world's No. 1 superpower is also the best at manipulating public opinion.

From violence in Hong Kong to the Uygur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, the U.S. has displayed its exquisite skills of maneuvering public sentiments to the direction that favors its domestic political needs – containment of China. For decades, American media outlets and politicians have been defaming China's justified endeavors in safeguarding sovereignty and combating terrorism. Despite China's extensive explanatory works with solid evidences, the U.S. can always find new ways to run its anti-Beijing campaign.

Recently, CGTN released two documentaries elaborating China's fight against terrorism in Xinjiang and the role the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) played in inciting strikes across China. After watching the never-before-seen footage of previous incidents of bloodshed, anyone who prioritizes human rights over politics would understand the necessity of establishing vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang.

However, American media responded by a new wave of criticism against China. After remaining silent on the documentaries, The New York Times (NYT) figured out new countermeasures – branding the documentaries as part of China's media campaign and accusing Beijing of using the bloody scenes to whitewash its alleged sins in "detaining" a million or more members of Uygur ethnic group. It is deliberately playing down the necessity of anti-terror combat and directing the public attention again to the so-called concentration camps.

It particularly singled out a tweet by T-House, a social media outlet dedicated to revealing a China different from what is depicted in Western narratives, as a piece of evidence allegedly showing that China is using all possible means, including Twitter, to wage a media war against the West.

China has no intention to be involved in any form of confrontation with the West. The purpose of the documentaries is to mourn the lives lost in the terror strikes and sensitize the international communities on the severity of anti-terrorism efforts in Xinjiang. However, the NYT is maliciously interpreting them as a means by the Chinese government to "undermine independent Western analysis and news reports" on the region. If the U.S. really cared about the truth, it would have never remained silent on ETIM-incited terror attacks that led to hundreds of innocent deaths in the first place.

In American media's coverage, China's anti-terrorism endeavors, without which Xinjiang would have never seen three consecutive years of peace and stability, are equivalent to violations of human rights, while their own country's years-long warfare in Afghanistan, which killed thousands of civilians, is all for a humanitarian cause. Even if multiple signs show that the U.S. is losing the Afghan war, American media outlets have been deliberately misleading the public by distorting statistics to make it appear the opposite.

Instead of caring for human rights, the U.S. cared more about the need to win over China in its imaginary media warfare. China has reiterated that the vocational education and training centers educate locals on the Chinese language and laws and impart practical skills for factory work. This can never be referred to as "brainwashing of Uygurs," as the West likes to call it. Instead, what American media has done in their coverage of the Afghan war is tantamount to brainwashing the public.

Eliminating terrorism via education is not a sin, but remaining silent in the face of terror attacks and interpreting the documentaries as part of a media campaign is. While China has shown utmost respect to lives lost in the September 11 strikes, hundreds of innocent people who have fallen victim to terrorism in Xinjiang deserve respect as well. They should never be purposely forgotten amidst the West's anti-China campaign.

U.S. coverage of Xinjiang has once again demonstrated its unrivaled skills in manipulating public opinion. While the U.S.' achievements in economy, military and technology deserve applause, it should be ashamed of being the world's best player in manipulating public opinion.

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