People's Daily#Online version

The paper was established on 15 June 1948 and was published in Pingshan County, Hebei.{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Ying |title=Red Ink: A History of Printing and Politics in China |publisher=Royal Collins Press |year=2024 |isbn=9781487812737}}{{Rp|page=86}} It was formed from the merger of the Jin-Cha-Ji Daily and the newspapers of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu base area.{{Rp|page=86}} On 15 March 1949, its office was moved to Beijing, and the original People's Daily Beijing edition was renamed Beijing Liberation Daily. The newspaper ceased publication on 31 July 1949, with a total of 406 issues published. Since the newspaper was the official newspaper of the North China Central Bureau of the CCP, it was historically known as the North China People's Daily or the People's Daily North China Edition. At the same time, in order to indicate that the newspaper was published in Pingshan County, Hebei, it was also called the People's Daily Pingshan Edition. On 1 August 1949, the People's Daily was officially changed from the official newspaper of the North China Bureau of the CCP to the official newspaper of the CCP Central Committee.{{Cite web |title=燕凌："《人民日报》北平版和《北平解放报》"，《新闻战线》1999年第3期 |url=http://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/0613/c365014-21828776.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807082902/http://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/0613/c365014-21828776.html |archive-date=2014-08-07 |access-date=2019-11-03}}

Ever since its founding, the People's Daily has been under direct control of the CCP's top leadership. Deng Tuo and Wu Lengxi served as editor-in-chief from 1948 to 1958 and 1958–1966, respectively, but the paper was in fact controlled by Mao Zedong's personal secretary Hu Qiaomu.{{Cite web|title=Historian: Hu Qiaomu|url=https://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/historian-hu-qiaomu/|date=27 August 2015|website=Chinese Revolution|language=en-US|access-date=29 May 2020|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407144916/https://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/historian-hu-qiaomu/|url-status=live}}

At the start of the Cultural Revolution, many news media executives were overthrown, and Wu Lengxi replaced Deng Tuo as editor-in-chief. Faced with the ever-changing political situation, the People's Daily was still at a loss as to what to do. On the afternoon of 31 May 1966, Chen Boda led a working group to "carry out a small coup" at the People's Daily, seizing power from Wu Lengxi and the editorial board. Afterwards, the People's Daily and Red Flag were led by a working group headed by Chen Boda, the head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group. On 1 June, the People's Daily printed an editorial called Sweep Away All Cow Demons and Snake Spirits, seeking support for the Cultural Revolution and the moving against "rightist". During this period, the two papers and the People's Liberation Army Daily became part of what was known as the Two Newspapers and One Journal, becoming three most influential media during the Cultural Revolution.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-13 |title=Two Newspapers and One Journal |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/two-newspapers-and-one-journal/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US}}

During the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the People's Daily editorial of 26 April, which condemned "unlawful parades and demonstrations," marked a significant moment in the newspaper's history.{{cite web |url=http://www.tsquare.tv/chronology/April26ed.html |title=April 26 Editorial |publisher=Tsquare.tv |date=26 April 1989 |access-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617074111/http://tsquare.tv/chronology/April26ed.html |archive-date=17 June 2012 |url-status=live }} The editorial increased tension between the government and protesters, and top CCP leaders argued about whether to revise it. An article that compiles the most important editorials was released by the People's Daily during the student movement.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

An analysis of the wording of all the issues of the People's Daily from 1995 to 2000 was used in the writing of The First Series of Standardized Forms of Words with Non-standardized Variant Forms.{{cite web|url=http://ling.whu.edu.cn/law/002/2016-04-20/1300.html|script-title=zh:第一批异形词整理表（试行）|language=zh-hans|author=国家语言文字工作委员会|date=20 April 2016|access-date=21 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127110551/http://ling.whu.edu.cn/law/002/2016-04-20/1300.html|archive-date=27 November 2018|url-status=live}}{{rp|3}} In March 2018, People's Daily won the Third National Top 100 Newspapers in China.{{cite web | title=

第三届全国"百强报刊"公布 这份名单是怎么产生的 | website=media.people.com.cn | date=2018-03-06 | url=http://media.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0306/c40606-29850971.html | language=zh | access-date=2025-02-06}}{{cite web | title=第三届全国"百强报刊" 推荐结果出炉 | website=Xinhua News Agency | url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/zgjx/2018-03/05/c_137016743.htm | language=zh | access-date=2025-02-06}}

The People's Daily is published by the People's Daily Press, a ministerial-level institution. The agency is also responsible for the publication of the nationalist tabloid Global Times.{{Cite web |title=Decoding Chinese Politics: Party Center |url=https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/decoding-chinese-politics?policy=party-center&group=organizations&size=rank&connection=personal |access-date=11 October 2024 |website=Asia Society| date=4 October 2024 }}{{Cite news |last=Branigan |first=Tania |date=20 April 2009 |title=China defies media cuts and closures with new newspaper launch |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/20/china-newspaper-launch |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408181317/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/20/china-newspaper-launch |archive-date=8 April 2020 |access-date=17 July 2021 |work=The Guardian}} The newspaper is published worldwide in four editions:{{cite web |title=人民日报社简介--关于我们--人民网 |url=http://www.people.com.cn/GB/50142/104580/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320205603/http://www.people.com.cn/GB/50142/104580/index.html |archive-date=2019-03-20 |accessdate=2011-01-03 |website=www.people.com.cn}}

• Mainland China Edition: Mainly for readers in mainland China
• Hong Kong Edition: Mainly for readers in Hong Kong
• Overseas Edition: Mainly for readers outside mainland China and Hong Kong
• Tibetan version: mainly for Tibetan readers in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan-populated areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, Gansu and other provinces of China.

The Mainland Edition is the domestic edition, and the name of the edition is not clearly stated. The Mainland Edition initially had 4 pages, and later developed to 24 pages from Monday to Friday, 12 pages on Saturday and Sunday, and 8 pages on holidays. From 2019, it started to have 20 pages on weekdays and 8 pages on weekends and holidays, and have been printed in full color. In addition, the People's Daily Publishing House issues reduced-print bound volumes of the People's Daily, one volume every half month, 24 volumes per year, and the content and layout are basically the same as the original newspaper.

The People's Daily maintains a unit called People's Data that conducts overseas social media data collection and analysis for police, judicial authorities, CCP organizations.{{Cite news |last=Cadell |first=Cate |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Report: China's propaganda units harvest data from overseas tech firms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/01/china-data-propaganda-aspi-report/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{Cite news |last=Cadell |first=Cate |date=31 December 2021 |title=China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-harvests-masses-of-data-on-western-targets-documents-show/2021/12/31/3981ce9c-538e-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101001350/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-harvests-masses-of-data-on-western-targets-documents-show/2021/12/31/3981ce9c-538e-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |access-date=1 January 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} People's Data also has data sharing agreements in place with various companies such as DiDi and Temu's parent company Pinduoduo. In 2022, the People's Daily launched a commercial software service called Renmin Shenjiao (People's Proofreader) that provides outsourced content censorship.{{Cite news |last1=Cai |first1=Vanessa |last2=Zhuang |first2=Sylvie |date=2023-07-17 |title=Chinese entities turn to People's Daily censorship AI to avoid political mines |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3227876/why-chinese-entities-are-turning-peoples-daily-censorship-ai-avoid-political-mines |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720023220/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3227876/why-chinese-entities-are-turning-peoples-daily-censorship-ai-avoid-political-mines |url-status=live }} The People's Daily also provides artificial intelligence companies in China with training data that CCP leaders consider permissible.{{Cite news |last=Lin |first=Liza |date=July 15, 2024 |title=China Puts Power of State Behind AI—and Risks Strangling It |url=https://www.wsj.com/tech/china-puts-power-of-state-behind-aiand-risks-strangling-it-f045e11d |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 16, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |archive-date=16 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716031258/https://www.wsj.com/tech/china-puts-power-of-state-behind-aiand-risks-strangling-it-f045e11d |url-status=live }} In 2024, the People's Daily released a large language model-based tool called Easy Write.{{Cite web |last=Colville |first=Alex |date=2024-11-27 |title=The Party in the Machine |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/11/27/the-party-in-the-machine/ |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=2 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202030718/https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/11/27/the-party-in-the-machine/ |url-status=live }}

The overseas edition of the People's Daily was first published on 1 July 1985, and was originally published in traditional Chinese characters. After 1 July 1992, it was changed to simplified Chinese characters. It currently has about three to four million regular readers worldwide. When it was first published, its layout was inspired by Western newspapers and periodicals, using a variety of font sizes. Soong May-ling, a Kuomintang elder living in the United States at the time and Chiang Kai-shek's widow, said that its layout was better than that of its main competitor, the Kuomintang's party newspaper in Taiwan, the aviation edition of the Central Daily News.{{Cite book |last=蒋经国等著、周美華、蕭李居编 |title=蔣經國書信集——與宋美齡往來函電(下) |publisher=国史馆 |year=2009 |isbn= |location=台北 |pages=581 |quote=1985年8月16日，宋美齡函電蔣經國：
「『匪』『人民日報』已在美出版，其排字方式標題醒目，字型有三、四種大小不同者，利於閱讀。我《中央日報》皆數十年前之老排版，較長報導因囿於規格，使續讀費時尋找，失去傳遞消息之初衷。但我亦不必抄襲『匪』格式為要。辱暑中，特別注意休息、飲食。
母
八月十六日」}} Haiwainet is the website of the overseas edition of the People's Daily.{{Cite web |last=Lyhne-Gold |first=Bertie |date=2025-01-06 |title=The Many Faces of the People's Daily |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2025/01/06/the-many-faces-of-the-peoples-daily/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250109181635/https://chinamediaproject.org/2025/01/06/the-many-faces-of-the-peoples-daily/ |archive-date=9 January 2025 |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US}} In February 2014, the People's Daily Overseas Edition launched the WeChat public account “XiaKeDao”.{{cite news |title=传统媒体二级微信公众号的编辑特点分析——以"侠客岛""政事儿""长安街知事"为例&王少南 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|archive-date=2021-02-05 |accessdate=2020-10-08 |publisher=新闻研究导刊 《新闻研究导刊》编辑部 2016}} The People's Daily Overseas Edition and its subsidiary Overseas Network also collaborated to launch the commentary columns “Study Group” and “Hong Kong and Taiwan Tone”.[https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1249410 “学习小组”真实身份曝光，人民日报海外版认下这个孩子] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124221807/https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1249410}}.澎湃新闻.

The People's Daily also maintains a multilingual internet presence; and established the People's Daily Online in 1997.{{cite news |date=10 January 2012 |title=A Loyal Customer: People's Daily and Beijing |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/01/10/a-loyal-customer-people%E2%80%99s-daily-and-beijing-2/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608055633/http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/01/10/a-loyal-customer-people%E2%80%99s-daily-and-beijing-2/ |archive-date=8 June 2016 |access-date=4 August 2017 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} The website of People's Daily includes content in Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and English. In comparison to the original Chinese version, the foreign-language version offers less in-depth discussion of domestic policies and affairs and more editorials about China's foreign policies and motives.[http://thinkingchinese.com/index.php?page_id=346 Chinese and English versions of China's leading news portals – Two styles of journalism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321090509/http://thinkingchinese.com/index.php?page_id=346|date=21 March 2012}}, [http://thinkingchinese.com Thinking Chinese] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926162227/http://thinkingchinese.com/|date=26 September 2011}}, August 2011. The People's Daily in recent years has been expanding on overseas social media platforms. It has millions of followers on its Facebook page and its accounts on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. An unusually high proportion of its followers are virtually inactive and are likely to be fake users, according to a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists.{{Cite news |last=Shepherd |first=Christian |date=23 November 2015 |title=Twitter tally at People's Daily does not add up, say researchers |url=https://www.ft.com/content/43319c90-919a-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/43319c90-919a-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af |archive-date=10 December 2022 |access-date=25 February 2022 |work=Financial Times}} The People's Daily also maintains agreements with foreign newspapers to republish its content.{{Cite web |last1=Young |first1=Ellie |last2=Ludwig |first2=Jessica |title=Mexico: Beijing's Global Media Influence 2022 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/mexico/beijings-global-media-influence/2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805025102/https://freedomhouse.org/country/mexico/beijings-global-media-influence/2022 |archive-date=5 August 2023 |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}

The newspaper is the official "mouthpiece" ({{Lang-zh|s=喉舌|l=throat tongue}}) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2024-05-07 |title=China's Mouthpieces Go Quiet |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/05/07/mouthpieces-go-quiet/ |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US}} It is often viewed as most representative of the mainstream perspective of China's government and the CCP leadership's priorities.{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Frances Yaping |title=The Art of State Persuasion: China's Strategic Use of Media in Interstate Disputes |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780197757512}}{{Rp|page=77}}{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Chuchu |title=China's Changing Role in the Middle East: Filling a Power Vacuum? |date=2025 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-032-76275-3 |series=Changing Dynamics in Asia-Middle East Relations series |location=Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY}}{{Rp|pages=12-13}}

A large number of articles devoted to a political figure, idea, or geographic focus is often taken as a sign that the mentioned official or subject is rising.{{Cite journal |last=Wu |first=Shufang |date=3 September 2014 |title=The Revival of Confucianism and the CCP's Struggle for Cultural Leadership: a content analysis of the People's Daily , 2000–2009 |journal=Journal of Contemporary China |language=en |volume=23 |issue=89 |pages=971–991 |doi=10.1080/10670564.2014.882624 |issn=1067-0564 |s2cid=145585617}}{{Cite journal |last1=Weston |first1=Morley J. |last2=Rauchfleisch |first2=Adrian |date=23 July 2021 |title=Close to Beijing: Geographic Biases in People's Daily |journal=Media and Communication |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=59–73 |doi=10.17645/mac.v9i3.3966 |issn=2183-2439 |doi-access=free}} Editorials in the People's Daily are regarded both by foreign observers and Chinese readers as authoritative statements of official government policy. Distinction is made between editorials, commentaries, and opinions. Although all must be government approved, they differ sharply on the amount of official authoritativeness they contain by design – from the top. For example, although an opinion piece is unlikely to contain views opposed to those of the government, it may express a viewpoint, or it may contain a debate that is under consideration and reflect only the opinions of the writer: an editorial trial balloon to assess internal public opinion.{{Cite journal |last=Wu |first=Guoguang |date=March 1994 |title=Command Communication: The Politics of Editorial Formulation in the People's Daily |journal=The China Quarterly |language=en |volume=137 |issue=137 |pages=194–211 |doi=10.1017/S0305741000034111 |issn=0305-7410 |jstor=655694 |s2cid=154739228}} By contrast, an official editorial, which is rather infrequent, means that the government has reached a final decision on an issue.

The People's Daily employs "writing task groups" ({{lang-zh|s=写作小组|p=xiězuò xiǎozǔ}}) of various staff to compose editorial pieces to signal the significance of certain pieces or their relationship to the official views of the CCP.{{cite web |last1=Banurski |first1=David |title=Who is 'Zheng Qingyuan'? |url=http://chinamediaproject.org/2010/11/05/who-is-zheng-qingyuan-2/ |website=China Media Project |publisher=University of Hong Kong Journalism & Media Studies Centre |date=5 November 2010 |access-date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806043840/http://chinamediaproject.org/2010/11/05/who-is-zheng-qingyuan-2/ |url-status=live }} These groups are published under "signatures" (i.e., pen names: 署名 shǔmíng) that may correspond with the topic and weight of a piece, and what specific government or CCP body is backing it, often with homophonous references to their purpose.{{Cite journal|last1=Gitter|first1=David|last2=Fang|first2=Leah|year=2018|title=The Chinese Communist Party's Use of Homophonous Pen Names: An Open-Source Open Secret|journal=Asia Policy|language=en|volume=25|issue=1|pages=69–112|doi=10.1353/asp.2018.0009|s2cid=158246582|issn=1559-2960}}{{Cite news |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=June 23, 2022 |title=Pen Names for Power Struggles |work=China Media Project |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2022/06/23/pen-names-for-power-struggles/ |access-date=January 13, 2023 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113111326/https://chinamediaproject.org/2022/06/23/pen-names-for-power-struggles/ |url-status=live }}

{{Further|COVID-19 misinformation by China|Persecution of Uyghurs in China#Denial of abuses}}

During the AIDS epidemic, the People's Daily downplayed the epidemic domestically while "presenting AIDS as a relatively innocuous social problem for the country."{{Cite journal |last1=Dong |first1=Dong |last2=Chang |first2=Tsan-Kuo |last3=Chen |first3=Dan |date=19 June 2008 |title=Reporting AIDS and the Invisible Victims in China: Official Knowledge as News in the People's Daily , 1986–2002 |journal=Journal of Health Communication |language=en |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=357–374 |doi=10.1080/10810730802063793 |issn=1081-0730 |pmid=18569366 |s2cid=38167270}}

A 2013 study of the People's Daily coverage of the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak reported that it "regurgitated triumph and optimism" and framed the outbreak as an "opportunity to showcase China's scientific achievements, and the strength of national spirits, as well as the wise leadership of the party and effective measures to protect the lives of ordinary citizens."{{Cite book|last=Changfu|first=Chang|title=Evolution of Power: China's Struggle, Survival, and Success|date=21 November 2013|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-8498-1|pages=263–265|language=en|chapter=One System, Two Frames: The Coverage of the WTO Negotiations and the SARS Outbreak by the People's Daily and the China Daily|oclc=864899546|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fm5BAgAAQBAJ&dq=China%20Daily%20%22detached%22&pg=PA261|access-date=19 March 2023|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407144907/https://books.google.com/books?id=Fm5BAgAAQBAJ&dq=China%20Daily%20%22detached%22&pg=PA261|url-status=live}}

In February 2020, the People's Daily published an article stating that the novel coronavirus "did not necessarily originate in China."{{Cite news |last1=Gitter |first1=David |last2=Lu |first2=Sandy |last3=Erdahl |first3=Brock |date=30 March 2020 |title=China's Coronavirus Misinformation Campaign Seeks to Avoid Blame |work=Foreign Policy |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/30/beijing-coronavirus-response-see-what-sticks-propaganda-blame-ccp-xi-jinping/ |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129164906/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/30/beijing-coronavirus-response-see-what-sticks-propaganda-blame-ccp-xi-jinping/ |url-status=live }} In March 2020, the online insert of the People's Daily, distributed by The Daily Telegraph, published an article stating that Traditional Chinese medicine "helps fight coronavirus."{{Cite news |last=Sterling Jones |first=Dean |date=1 April 2020 |title=A British Newspaper Has Given Chinese Coronavirus Propaganda A Direct Line to the UK |work=BuzzFeed News |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/deansterlingjones/coronavirus-british-newspaper-chinese-propaganda |url-status=live |access-date=8 January 2021 |archive-date=3 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103211853/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/deansterlingjones/coronavirus-british-newspaper-chinese-propaganda }} In May 2020, the People's Daily stated that the novel coronavirus had "multiple origins."{{Cite news |date=27 May 2020 |title=China's latest U-turn, says COVID-19 virus had 'multiple origins' |work=National Herald |url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/chinas-latest-u-turn-says-covid-19-virus-had-multiple-origins |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123093041/https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/chinas-latest-u-turn-says-covid-19-virus-had-multiple-origins |url-status=live }} In November 2020, the People's Daily published a claim that COVID-19 was "imported" into China.{{Cite news |last1=Graham-Harrison |first1=Emma |last2=McKie |first2=Robin |date=29 November 2020 |title=A year after Wuhan alarm, China seeks to change Covid origin story |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/29/a-year-after-wuhan-alarm-china-seeks-to-change-covid-origin-story |access-date=30 November 2020 |issn=0029-7712 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130000005/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/29/a-year-after-wuhan-alarm-china-seeks-to-change-covid-origin-story |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=26 November 2020 |title=Chinese media step up campaign to muddy probe into Covid origins |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/edda14d0-145b-42e4-a1d2-4d64ab73bda1 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 November 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/edda14d0-145b-42e4-a1d2-4d64ab73bda1 |archive-date=10 December 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Stanway |first=David |date=26 November 2020 |title=With frozen food clampdown, China points overseas as source of coronavirus |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-origin-idUSKBN2861A2 |access-date=26 November 2020 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410211052/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-origin-idUSKBN2861A2 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Palmer |first=James |date=25 November 2020 |title=How Will Biden's Team Handle China? |work=Foreign Policy |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/25/how-biden-team-handle-china-diplomacy-national-security-beijing/ |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125215951/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/25/how-biden-team-handle-china-diplomacy-national-security-beijing/ |url-status=live }} In January 2021, the People's Daily inaccurately attributed deaths in Norway to the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.{{Cite news|last=Hui|first=Mary|date=21 January 2021|title=China's vaccine diplomacy has an aggressive anti-vax element|work=Quartz|url=https://qz.com/1959855/chinas-coronavirus-vaccine-diplomacy-is-anti-vax/|url-status=live|access-date=29 January 2021|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123184106/https://qz.com/1959855/chinas-coronavirus-vaccine-diplomacy-is-anti-vax/}}

In 2020, the United States Department of State designated the People's Daily a foreign mission, thereby requiring it to disclose more information about its operations in the U.S.{{Cite news |last1=Jakes |first1=Lara |last2=Myers |first2=Steven Lee |date=18 February 2020 |title=U.S. Designates China's Official Media as Operatives of the Communist State |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/world/asia/china-media-trump.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324074500/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/world/asia/china-media-trump.html |archive-date=24 March 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last1=O'Keeffe |first1=Kate |last2=Jonathan |first2=Cheng |date=19 February 2020 |title=State Department Names Five Chinese Media Outlets as Foreign Missions in U.S. |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/state-department-names-five-chinese-media-outlets-as-foreign-diplomatic-missions-in-u-s-11582062002 |url-status=live |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401025922/https://www.wsj.com/articles/state-department-names-five-chinese-media-outlets-as-foreign-diplomatic-missions-in-u-s-11582062002 |archive-date=1 April 2020 |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news |date=18 February 2020 |title=US tightens rules on Chinese state media over 'propaganda' concerns |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/18/us-chinese-media-propaganda-state-department |url-status=live |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325135013/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/18/us-chinese-media-propaganda-state-department |archive-date=25 March 2020 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |date=22 June 2020 |title=U.S. Designates Four More Chinese News Organizations as Foreign Missions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/us/politics/us-china-news-organizations.html |access-date=23 June 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=22 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622221012/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/us/politics/us-china-news-organizations.html |url-status=live }}

In 2021, ProPublica and The New York Times reported that the People's Daily was part of a coordinated state propaganda campaign to deny human rights abuses in Xinjiang.{{Cite news |last1=Kao |first1=Jeff |last2=Zhong |first2=Raymond |last3=Mozur |first3=Paul |last4=Krolik |first4=Aaron |date=23 June 2021 |title=How China Spreads Its Propaganda Version of Life for Uyghurs |work=ProPublica |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/how-china-uses-youtube-and-twitter-to-spread-its-propaganda-version-of-life-for-uyghurs-in-xinjiang |access-date=25 June 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624112414/https://www.propublica.org/article/how-china-uses-youtube-and-twitter-to-spread-its-propaganda-version-of-life-for-uyghurs-in-xinjiang |url-status=live }}

In 2023, the People's Daily sparked a backlash on Chinese social media for exhorting citizens to not complain about their own poverty or boredom.{{Cite web |date=October 10, 2023 |title=People's Daily call to quit whining sparks social media backlash |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-fake-positivity-10102023162632.html |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Radio Free Asia |language=en |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011133851/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-fake-positivity-10102023162632.html |url-status=live }}

• Mass media in China
• Xinhua News Agency
• China Media Group
• Xinwen Lianbo, the news program of China Central Television
• China News Service
• Qiushi
• Reference News
• Rodong Sinmun, North Korean counterpart
• Strengthening Nation Forum
• Yang Gang, deputy chief editor who committed suicide during the Anti-Rightist Campaign

{{Reflist}}

{{Library resources box}}

• {{Cite journal |last=Wu |first=Guoguang |date=12 February 2009 |title=Command Communication: The Politics of Editorial Formulation in the People's Daily |journal=The China Quarterly |volume=137 |pages=194–211 |doi=10.1017/S0305741000034111 |s2cid=154739228}}

{{Commons}}

• {{Official website}}

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Category:Chinese-language newspapers (Simplified Chinese)

Category:Communism in China

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Category:Daily newspapers published in China

Category:Chinese propaganda organisations

Category:National Top 100 Publications

Category:Propaganda newspapers and magazines