Gaining face

摘要

THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY'S approach to Facebook is, ahem, two-faced. At home, to stop citizens sharing messages it cannot read, it blocks the site. Clever users can defy the ban, but only 3m do. It is easier to use WeChat or Weibo, local rivals that the state watches closely. Abroad, by contrast, China uses Face-book to dish up propaganda. Squillions of foreigners see its posts. The English-language page of cgtn, a state mouthpiece, has 77m fans-the most of any news site. China now runs five of the six media outlets with the biggest Facebook followings. None had more than 3m fans in 2014. If their current growth rates continue, by 2022 China Daily and cgtn will overtake the page of Cristiano Ronaldo, a footballer, who is Facebook's most followed celebrity.