FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2024
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Brings China Is Not Our Enemy Message to PBS Headquarters
ARLINGTON, VA– CODEPINK and other peace activists will deliver a petition to PBS headquarters on Thursday, June 13, demanding the news organization stop censoring the film ‘Voices From the Frontline: China's War on Poverty!’
"We have over 6,000 signatures of US citizens concerned about PBS's continued censorship of the documentary, and the way our media continues to push narratives of hate and fear, while censoring all positive stories," explained CODEPINK China Is Not Our Enemy campaign organizer, Megan Russell.
PBS took down Voices from the Frontline: China's War on Poverty, a documentary directed by award-winning Peter Getzels, co-produced by PBS-SoCal with a foundation led by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, because it did not portray a negative image of the country that those in power here in the United States want people to believe. In doing so, PBS is depriving its viewers of opportunities to learn about collective harmony and equality by censoring this documentary and its insight into China's life-saving policies, which took 800 million citizens out of extreme poverty.
From the petition:
"It is stated on PBS' Mission & Values page that you provide "documentaries that open up new worlds [and] non-commercialized news programs that keep citizens informed on world events and cultures." Not only are you violating your own values by censoring this important documentary, but you are participating in allowing hate and misinformation to flourish during one of the most heightened climates of anti-Asian rhetoric and violence in recent U.S. history. The U.S. and China need to cooperate for the good of peace and the planet. Liberate Robert Kuhn's documentary and be a force for peace and cooperation. China Is Not Our Enemy!"
The petition delivery will occur from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (EDT)
For more information about the PBS Liberate the Film petition or our China Is Not Our Enemy campaign, please email Megan at [email protected].
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