The online platform of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) largest mouthpiece, People’s Daily, People.cn, saw a 132% year-on-year decrease in net profit in the first six months of this year, according to its half-year report. Commentators believe that the actual losses may be even more severe, highlighting the party media’s focus on political propaganda, which deviates from the essence of journalism.
Since its listing in 2012, People’s Daily has never reported a full-year net loss. However, in the first half of this year, the company’s net profit plummeted by 132%, signaling a significant downturn in its business operations, according to Dr. Lin Song, a veteran media professional based in Australia.
Dr. Lin expressed concerns about the severe loss incurred by the party media in the first half of the year, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. He also raised doubts about the accuracy of the data released by the company, suggesting that the reality may be even grimmer than reported.
People.cn attributed the decline in net profit in the first half of the year to factors such as the exit or transformation of some subsidiaries, unfavorable conditions in the advertising industry, and investment losses in affiliated units amounting to 13.52 million yuan.
While the half-year report did not disclose detailed revenue and expenditure breakdowns, the company’s 2024 annual report revealed that its advertising revenue was closely tied to “propaganda services,” accounting for 49.42% of its overall business. The report also acknowledged challenges faced by the traditional advertising business, citing market contraction pressure and a shift in audience preferences towards online platforms and short videos.
Dr. Lin highlighted various risks identified in the company’s annual report, including a heavy reliance on traditional advertising revenue, dwindling audience coverage among the younger generation, and the difficulty of retaining viewers through conventional content distribution methods.
He emphasized that even without the presence of short video and social media platforms, ordinary people may not necessarily prefer consuming content from party media outlets. The one-sided propaganda in favor of the CCP has alienated the public, as it often contradicts the realities of people’s lives.
People’s Daily, as the CCP’s leading party mouthpiece, has long been criticized as a tool for spreading falsehoods. Some critics even go as far as saying that everything in the publication, except for the publication date, is fabricated.
In its annual report, People.cn touted its adherence to the so-called “Xi Jinping Thought” as a guiding principle and pledged to implement “Xi Jinping’s cultural ideology.” However, Dr. Lin emphasized that despite bearing the name “People,” the party media has deviated from its journalistic essence, prioritizing the CCP’s political interests above all else.
Reflecting on his research during his university days, where he initially studied the alienation of the mainland Chinese news industry but was later pressured to align his findings with the CCP’s agenda, Dr. Lin criticized the CCP’s manipulative narratives that equate the party’s interests with those of the people.
He remarked, “This is a self-serving narrative by the CCP, not grounded in reality, but the CCP does not allow scrutiny of these matters.”