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Natalie Winters@nataliegwinters · Jul 28, 2026

EXC: Leaked Document Names Mainstream Journalists Taking Pay-For-Play Trips To China A Xi-praised influence group flew…

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Summary

A leaked investigation reveals that a China-backed influence group (C100) paid for 26 elite journalists from major U.S. news outlets to visit China, with internal documents showing the program succeeded in changing how these journalists viewed and reported on Beijing. The journalists later produced coverage favorable to China and opposed tougher U.S. policies against Beijing, raising questions about undisclosed influence operations in American media.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    EXC: Leaked Document Names Mainstream Journalists Taking Pay-For-Play Trips To China A Xi-praised influence group flew 26 elite journalists to China, then privately celebrated changing how they viewed and covered Beijing. I’m naming names. 🧵

  2. #2

    Xi Jinping praised C100 as a “friendly organization” making “untiring efforts” to advance CCP influence in the U.S. The stated objective of the trips was to “improve perceptions of China.”

  3. #3

    Leaked internal documents show delegation prices starting at $60,000. C100 also promoted that 70% of American opinion leaders who visited China returned with improved views. Its targets came from The New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, NPR, PBS, TIME and more.

  4. #4

    The names, with the positions C100 listed at the time: • Jill Abramson, Managing Editor, The New York Times • David Brooks, columnist, The New York Times • Juan Williams, Senior Political Analyst, NPR • David Ignatius, Associate Editor and columnist, Washington Post • John Harris, Editor-in-Chief, Politico

  5. #5

    • Eugene Robinson, columnist and Associate Editor, Washington Post • Tavis Smiley, host, PBS and PRI • Ruth Marcus, columnist, Washington Post • Howard Fineman, Editorial Director, HuffPost

  6. #6

    • Fred Hiatt, Editorial Page Editor and columnist, Washington Post • Clarence Page, columnist, Chicago Tribune • Brian Lehrer, host, WNYC • Rana Foroohar, Deputy Editor, Newsweek

  7. #7

    • Clive Crook, Senior Editor, The Atlantic • John Gapper, Associate Editor and columnist, Financial Times • Winnie O’Kelley, Deputy Business Editor, The New York Times • Nicholas Goldberg, Editorial Pages Editor, Los Angeles Times

  8. #8

    • Jonathan Tepperman, Managing Editor, Foreign Affairs • Gary Silverman, U.S. News Editor and Deputy Managing Editor, Financial Times • Charles Cook, publisher, Cook Political Report • Henry Finder, Editorial Director, The New Yorker

  9. #9

    • John Byrne, Executive Editor, BusinessWeek • Adam Kushner, Executive Editor, National Journal • Rekha Basu, columnist, Des Moines Register • Brian Gallagher, Editorial Page Editor, USA TODAY

  10. #10

    The names are explosive. The internal after-action report is worse. Marked “Internal Use,” it recorded what journalists said after being escorted through Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. The organizers treated changing their thinking as the measure of success.

  11. #11

    Financial Times editor Gary Silverman said: “I don’t think that I will ever think or write about China in the future without reflecting on what I learned this week.” That is the influence operation describing its impact in the journalist’s own words.

  12. #12

    WNYC host Brian Lehrer said his perception of China changed: “In 100 ways.” Foreign Affairs editor Jonathan Tepperman returned with a “much deeper, more subtle and more nuanced sense” of China. He called it the best press trip he had taken.

  13. #13

    The New York Times’ Winnie O’Kelley returned with “several story ideas” and plans to: “Shape my staff across Asia in some different ways.” She also said: “I hope to add at least one business reporter in China.”

  14. #14

    A Chinese academic congratulated the organizers for achieving exactly what the program was designed to do. Fudan University professor Shen Dingli told C100: “It is hard to speak on China without being to the country. You made the change!”

  15. #15

    C100’s internal verdict: “The C-100 Leadership Delegation Program has had a visible impact on their understanding and perceptions of China.” It hoped participants would share their experiences with colleagues to shape “reporting and coverage of China.”

  16. #16

    The report also tracked the stories produced after the trips. Clive Crook published: “Why China and the U.S. Can Be Capitalist Comrades” C100 wanted the delegates to carry its preferred view of China back into America’s most influential newsrooms.

  17. #17

    Several delegates later became prominent opponents of tougher action against Beijing. David Brooks called Trump’s proposed tariffs: “The single worst policy idea on the table before us.” He dismissed the argument that tariffs were necessary to confront China.

  18. #18

    Eugene Robinson attacked Trump’s trade war as an: “Ill-advised gambit.” He wrote that Xi Jinping could emerge as the “reasonable adult” in the confrontation between Washington and Beijing.

  19. #19

    David Ignatius warned America was: “Dramatically overestimating China’s capabilities.” He branded growing alarm over Beijing “scare talk” and argued that separating the American economy from China would “backfire.”

  20. #20

    Financial Times columnist John Gapper later defended allowing Chinese-founded fast-fashion giant Shein to list in London despite scrutiny of its supply chains, labor practices and governance. His conclusion: Britain should allow the listing.

  21. #21

    The identities were scattered across archived rosters, itineraries, biographies and internal reports. Now they are all in one place. Read the full investigation and see the documents here: open.substack.com/pub/nataliegwi…