This article is from Democracy Digest:

The U.S. and China are engaged in a war to claim the coveted spot of soft-power hegemon, argues Kyle Sullivan, China Practice Lead at Crumpton Group, a global risk intelligence advisory firm based in Arlington, Va. With the U.S. engulfed in a worsening outbreak, China has gained strategic advantage. And, unlike most conventional wars, there may not be a clear victor in this fight, at least not immediately, he writes for The Hill.

But Europe has become the key propaganda battleground, TIME reports. In a recent blog post, E.U. chief diplomat Josep Borrell (left) warned that the “politics of generosity” concealed “a geo-political component including a struggle for influence.” China, he added, “is aggressively pushing the message that, unlike the U.S., it is a responsible and reliable partner … Armed with facts, we need to defend Europe against its detractors.”

There’s no time like a crisis for propaganda, so it is no surprise that states and other influence operators are seizing the new coronavirus outbreak to better position themselves at home and abroad, notes Alicia Wanless, the co-director of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations:…

Read the full perspective here.