“This New Policy Will Ensure That Taxpayer Dollars Are Never Involved in Anti-American Messaging Efforts”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke on the Senate floor today about the importance of pushing back against the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the entertainment industry. During her remarks, Senator Fischer highlighted instances of potential Chinese propaganda in prominent films like the new Barbie movie and the pervasiveness of China’s authoritarian agenda in seemingly innocent messages.  

Senator Fischer also discussed how she successfully secured language in the last two National Defense Authorization Acts to prevent the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) from participating in entertainment projects with ties to the CCP.

Because of these provisions, the DoD is now prohibited from assisting with entertainment projects that censor the content of the project in a material manner to advance the national interest of the People’s Republic of China.

Click here to watch Senator Fischer's remarks

Following is a transcript of Senator Fischer’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Earlier this month, the Chinese Communist Party’s relentless propaganda efforts rose to the forefront of international discussion yet again.

China’s authoritarian government squashes opposition at home without hesitation, but its censorship and propaganda spreads far beyond Chinese borders. The CCP uses an array of insidious means to push its messages across national boundaries.

Concerns that the CCP’s influence is seeping into Hollywood continue to grow. This issue flared up once again this month. Why? Well, in a word, Barbie.

You heard me right, M. President. A movie about a plastic doll is the last place you’d expect national security questions to arise. But it was.

One trailer for the Barbie movie depicted a cartoon map of the title character’s world travels. On the map is a roughly-drawn continent of Asia. But it might be more than just a cartoon character’s doodle. The map includes a dotted line extending out from the east shore of China.

That line is curiously similar to what’s known as the nine-dash line. Everyone in the defense space is familiar with this line — it’s a Chinese-drawn boundary in the South China Sea.

China uses this boundary to claim ownership of maritime territory — even though the United Nations’ International Court of Justice rejected its claims on that territory in 2016. The country’s neighbors, including Vietnam and the Philippines, certainly contest these claims as well.

China appeals to this false boundary when its naval presence creeps into new areas of the South China Sea, and it intimidates boats, fishermen, and others from neighboring countries who cross that invisible line.

Now Barbie the movie is a great movie — Americans loved it this past weekend, but the Barbie movie treads far too closely to depicting what looks like the nine-dash line. Hollywood must become more aware of the ways the CCP tends to push its propaganda.

Use of the line is a trigger for geopolitical sensitivities. Including its likeness on a map — even as part of a child-like drawing — has real global ramifications.

You may say, come on, it’s just a movie — but Vietnam’s authorities banned Barbie from playing in theaters because of its offensive alleged depiction of nine-dash line. And members of the Philippines’ government raised concerns as well, eventually deciding to blur the map line in showings across the country.

Despite the Barbie movie’s content, allegations of Chinese propaganda in Hollywood aren’t child’s play. China continues to take advantage of our unprecedented global media network to do real damage.

It’s no accident that China is financing some of the biggest films. And China runs the second largest box office in the world, second only to North America. When a movie doesn’t play in China, Hollywood loses literally billions of dollars.

Remember the controversy around Top Gun’s sequel last year? The Department of Defense worked with Paramount Pictures to make that movie happen. But when Top Gun: Maverick’s first trailer was released in 2019, viewers noticed that the Japanese and Taiwanese flags on Tom Cruise’s bomber jacket had been replaced in an attempt to appease China. The studio wisely reversed course on that decision after public outcry — but that’s not where the CCP’s influence ended.

The film made no mentions, or even implications, of the United States’ primary adversary: China. Any movie related to our national defense that doesn’t bring up China — well, it must be set in an alternate universe, because that is the biggest defense challenge facing our country.

This isn’t a conspiracy theory — it’s China’s strategy. The defense world is well aware that China maintains a well-oiled propaganda machine that’s enmeshed in modern media.

You may say, come on, it’s just a movie. No, this is a serious problem — so serious, that it’s one our government should address. We can’t allow our federal agencies to help elevate messages that support the CCP’s goals. And we certainly cannot involve our own defense department — and taxpayer dollars — in entertainment projects beholden to Chinese propaganda.

As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I’ve successfully secured language in the last two National Defense Authorization Acts — or NDAAs — to prevent our government’s Department of Defense from participating in entertainment projects with ties to the CCP.

Thanks to our persistent efforts, the Department of Defense recently released new regulations around how the Department of Defense can provide assistance to entertainment projects. Pursuant to these NDAA provisions, the Department is now prohibited from assisting with entertainment projects that censor the content of the project in a material manner to advance the national interest of the People’s Republic of China.

It’s my hope that this new policy will ensure that taxpayer dollars are never involved in anti-American messaging efforts — as well as send a clear signal to the CCP that we will no longer turn a blind eye to its sinister propaganda efforts.

This is just one example of the many provisions in this year’s NDAA that stand up to China and advance our national security. I encourage my Senate colleagues to vote yes on the NDAA so that we can deliver a strong package that keeps China in line.

Thank you. I yield the floor.

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