Vloggers offer reality check on biased coverage of China

Fresh perspective

Jannelize Bessenger, a part-time vlogger from South Africa who has been living in China for more than five years, is aware of the inaccurate depiction of the country.

She said before she came to China there was "not one positive thing" she knew about the country from media reports.

"It was just scary stuff all the time. It (the media) seldom reported about food, and even if it did, it was always about the weird food in the weird markets," she recalled.

The negative reports raised unnecessary fears for both her and her family, and planted "strange "ideas in her head such as sushi being the only food she could eat in China.

"That just explains how much the West knows about China," said the South African.

"If you want to know about China, you have to do research. But for people who aren't really interested, they just hear things on the news, and that was me and my family."

The misconceptions inspired Bessenger to start a YouTube channel documenting her daily life in China.

She is also glad to see more and more foreigners exploring the real China firsthand.

"They are exactly like me," she said. "They came to China with not that much knowledge. Why would people make those videos if China is really a bad place?"

On the resurgence of China's inbound travel, Summers, the academic, said while personal experiences can vary, there is no substitute for seeing how things are on the ground.

However, even honest accounts by vloggers can result in accusations they were paid by the government to speak positively about China.

"We get asked this on almost every single video, and it gets a little bit boring," said Benjamin Dridge.

Another British couple Taz and Libby, whose YouTube channel is called Sun Kissed Bucket List, said their motives are rarely questioned when they post videos about other countries.

"We've probably not experienced this before," they said in a video, in response to accusations of bias. "Why would anyone want to pay anyone when, literally, the doors have been opened to over 50 countries with visa-friendly policies? It is open for everyone to come and see things for themselves."

They added that China can't make it any easier for tourists to visit the country. "If you have any concerns, travel to the country, see things for yourself, and see what's happening."