This is French reporters Justine Jankowski & Marine Zambrano. Yesterday, they both blocked me.
But why?
They recently did an "undercover investigation" in China that claimed Chinese factories use child & forced labor.
The only problem: they are lying.
And I have proof. 🧵⬇️
Last summer, these two reporters from popular French show "Cash Investigation" snuck into clothing factories in China trying to prove forced labor.
They found no evidence, but banked on their audience not understanding the Chinese language.
Unluckily for them, I do.
So what were their claims?
1⃣ To have found child labor in a Chinese factory;
2⃣ To have found forced labor in a Chinese factory;
3⃣ To have found a factory using Xinjiang cotton in a Chinese factory.
Their 3 claims are all blatant lies.
Let's go through them one by one.
Last summer, Justine @JustineJankows1 and Marine @Marinezamb lied their way into some clothing factories in China's Shandong Province.
They wore hidden cameras and claimed they needed to use the toilet. The friendly security guards took their word for it and let them in.
Once inside, Marine went about trying to get evidence for her preconceived plot: forced labor.
Of course, she found nothing of the sort. In fact, the factory looked clean, orderly and relaxed.
But then she hit the fake news jackpot!
A 12-year-old girl was sitting next to her mother, who is employed at the factory.
Marine couldn't believe her luck! If she could prove child labor, they'd have an amazing exposé!
She asked the girl if she worked there.
"No, I just come here to wait for my mom," she said.
Not the bombshell Marine was looking for, so she asked the girl to sit at a work station and pretend to work.
The girl obliged, as Marine coaxed her on. "You are a diligent worker!" the reporter laughed.
"Thanks," the girl replied as her mom stood by.
And with that, Marine's trap for her hungry viewers on French TV was successful, and the piece was aired there as evidence of child labor.
A French NGO called Disclose worked with the TV show to make a report at the same time.
Check out what they wrote in the next tweet! 🤬
'Her tiny fingers are doing up a Decathlon navy blue polo shirt under the vigilant gaze of her mother ...
“I’m 12,” the girl replies when asked how old she is. She looks particularly small as the huge production lines of the factory where she works illegally are almost empty.'
Decathlon is the name of a massive French clothing brand which uses that factory in China to produce some of their clothes.
Our two French reporters want to prove the company is using forced labor in China in order to damage the brand.
And it worked. 'Cos of the allegations (2 of which I will tell you about shortly), the company panicked and the factory was shut down for an investigation.
The mom of the girl plead for help from the reporters for lost income (below image from Chinese TV).
They ignored her.
The next big lie is perhaps the most blatant.
One of the French reporters, Marine, speaks a little Chinese. But her skills are pretty average, so she mistranslated a key Chinese quote used to prove her claim of forced labor in a Chinese factory.
They found a recruitment video from the company on China's TikTok, and claimed it showed an employee saying: "We welcome workers from Xinjiang and North Korea here."
This would be a problem, because the U.S. claims workers from those places are forced to work illegally.
It's not true, of course, but a company like Decathlon using workers from Xinjiang, for example, would face sanctions from the U.S. government. Not good.
That's because the U.S. passed a law, called the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which stops int'l companies hiring Xinjiang workers based on the "forced labor" lie.
Instead of using the internationally recognized legal concept of "innocent until proven guilty," the U.S. has decided that EVERY person in, or even FROM, Xinjiang who is employed, is doing so under forced labor.
This effectively stops even Chinese factories from hiring people from their own country if they happen to be from Xinjiang, for fear of being accused of forced labor, which would mean international companies like Decathlon wouldn't be willing to have clothes made there.
U.S. laws can pressure companies around the world and force them to obey, for fear of losing valuable markets.
So China, despite knowing full well that there is no forced labor in China, has to discriminate against it's own people and refuse to hire them, all based on a U.S. law.
So claiming the video they found on China's TikTok calls for Xinjiang workers would be a massive problem for Decathlon.
They played the video on the French TV show, and subtitled it to fit their narrative.
Problem? That's not AT ALL what the woman in the video says!
In the video, the factory manager doesn't say "Xinjiang," she says "man qin jiang," which means 'full attendance bonus."
And she doesn't say "North Korea" (Chaoxian in Mandarin), she says "chao tian shu jiang," which describes bonuses for working extra days.
And guess what?
The French NGO, Disclose, repeated the lie.
Check out what they wrote:
They even showed the video to anti-China conspiracy theorist Adrian Zenz, who claims to be a respected academic who can speak Mandarin Chinese.
He watches the video and can't tell the Chinese is wrong, then says this is "incontrovertible evidence" of forced labor! 🤣
The final lie Justine Jankowski and Marine Zambrano tell their French viewers is that they found evidence another factory uses Xinjiang cotton.
Why would that be a problem? Well, that U.S. law forbids int'l companies using Xinjiang products, because they claim forced labor.
Marine asks a factory worker: "Is all your cotton produced in Shandong?"
Worker: "Not necessarily."
Marine: "I heard Xinjiang has lots of cotton."
Worker: "I heard that, too."
That's it, and they used THAT to "prove" the factory uses Xinjiang cotton!
That's it, y'all!
All three of the claims made in the video are easily proven as false, but @cashinvestigati still aired the show, which ultimately led to the factories involved being shut down and workers losing valuable income.
All because two French idiots want to lie!
Yesterday I posted a video explaining their lies on my show, Reports on China, which led both reporters to blocking me here on X.
But they shouldn't be allowed to get away with this.
They need to be held accountable, and shamed, for their blatant, evil actions.
You can help by sharing this post, and by spreading the word. I really appreciate it – let's get some justice for the harm caused by their two, vile humans.
If you want, you can watch my video report at the tweet below:
UPDATE: The host of the show is @EliseLucet, and it was aired on @FranceTV & @Francetele. Any comments?
The NGO, Disclose, who published the report based on complete lies can be found here: @Disclose_ngo
@EliseLucet @FranceTV @Francetele @Disclose_ngo UPDATE: Disclose, the French NGO that collab’d with Cash Investigations to produce these lies, and who wrote a written report to release at the same time, is funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
Soros is an ardent and decades-long China hater.
Follow the money!
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I had a bit of an accident on my electric scooter here in Shanghai. 🏍️
The police suggested I go for a hospital checkup, but I was worried it would take forever.
30 minutes later and I was done, including an X-Ray!
What was the process and cost? A short 🧵
Firstly, I’m totally fine! They wanted to X-ray my ankle, since it was a bit battered under my bike. No problems! The rest was just fairly surface scratching.
A whole group of scooter riders went through a red light, and while trying to stop I ended up on the ground.
I think I hit my head pretty hard, so please wear your helmets folks! (I was.)
The police came and told me to go to the nearest hospital for a checkup.
Being from NZ, I had in my mind that it would take hours upon hours.
Anyone saying Speed was paid by the "CCP"* or worked with the "CCP"* for his recent live streams in China is just showing how little they understand this country.
A quick 🧵:
*CPC
QUICK BACKGROUND:
YouTuber iSpeedShow has over 37 million followers on the app, and recently streamed from Shanghai and Beijing.
His two streams gained around 10M views, and were heralded as a massive boon for China, showing his young fans a more fair and realistic view.
CRITICISM:
Some claimed Speed was paid by the "CCP" for his streams in China, especially after he was praised by China's embassy in the US for helping "bridge gaps."
This is an ill-informed criticism, since the CPC doesn't work directly with any foreign celebrities etc.
Canada has updated its travel advice for China, warning Canadians that they may be subject to the law in China if they try to smuggle in drugs etc. 🇨🇦💉💊
But why?
A short 🧵⬇️
Canada is mad that China didn’t listen to Justin Trudeau when he ordered Beijing not to execute four Chinese nationals for smuggling drugs into China, because they also hold Canadian passports.
But wait!
In China, it’s illegal for Chinese to hold dual citizenship — they need to renounce their Chinese citizenship in order to become Canadian. They didn’t.
They entered China using Chinese passports and carrying drugs.
I asked Grok, X's AI model, and famous Chinese AI model DeepSeek a simple question:
▶️ Who is Andy Boreham?
One had an amazing reply, the other was almost completely wrong.
Decide who you think won before scrolling down to read both replies. ⬇️
Before we move on, this is Yumi Ishikawa, a Japanese activist who one of the AI models thinks is my wife...
GROK’S REPLY:
Andy Boreham is a New Zealand-born journalist and media professional based in Shanghai, China. He works as a columnist, video producer, and journalist for Shanghai Daily, a Chinese state-affiliated English-language newspaper, and its associated platform, SHINE.cn.
Boreham has lived in China for several years, initially moving there as an exchange student to study Mandarin during his undergraduate years at Victoria University of Wellington.
He later pursued a master’s degree in Chinese Language and Culture at Fudan University in Shanghai, funded by a Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia awarded by former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
After completing his studies, he began working full-time for Shanghai Daily.
Boreham is known for his coverage of China-related topics, often presenting perspectives that align with or defend the Chinese government’s narrative.
His work includes writing columns, producing vlogs and short documentaries, and conducting interviews on topics such as Chinese culture, politics, and international relations.
He has gained attention for his criticism of Western media’s portrayal of China, arguing that it is often biased and unfair. Boreham hosts and created Reports on China, a platform where he discusses issues related to China and counters what he describes as anti-China propaganda.
He has been labeled as "China state-affiliated media" by Twitter (now X), a designation he has described as a "badge of honour," reflecting his belief that he is providing a counter-narrative to Western media.
This label has made him a controversial figure, with critics accusing him of acting as a propagandist for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a claim he denies, asserting that his views are his own and based on his experiences and understanding of China.
Boreham’s background also includes a diverse range of experiences in New Zealand, where he worked in media, politics, and graphic design before moving to China. He holds a triple major undergraduate degree in Media Studies, Political Science, and Chinese, and has experience in film production, having graduated from film school.
He is also involved with the New Zealand China Friendship Society, aiming to foster understanding between the two nations.
His work has garnered both praise and criticism. Supporters commend his investigative efforts, such as exposing alleged inaccuracies in Western reporting about China, while detractors view him as a mouthpiece for the CCP, pointing to his employment with state media and his defense of Chinese policies as evidence of bias.
Regardless of perspective, Boreham remains a notable figure in discussions about China’s image in global media.