Lee and Oli Barrett

Lee and Oli Barrett are a pair of British YouTubers based in Shenzhen, China.

Lee is the father and had lived in China for a period since before 2019. Oli, the son, formerly operated a YouTube channel related to Call of Duty and moved to China in 2019.[1] Their channel was established circa June 2019. By May 2020 the two had 100,000 subscribers.[2] By June 2021, they had 29 million views.[3] By July of the same year, Lee Barrett was working as a stringer for China Global Television Network.[4]

According to The Sunday Times, the Chinese government sponsors the Barretts for their content,[1] but the allegation was disputed by Lee Barrett on their YouTube channel, claiming that they have taken expenses-paid trips sponsored by government affiliated entities, but had full editorial independence for their content output although they chose not to edit anything provided by the Chinese government.

Content

The Barretts make content defending the Chinese government and its surveillance program, stating that the Xinjiang concentration camps do not exist, and that Western media are making unfair accusations against China.[3][5] Ethan Paul of the South China Morning Post wrote that "Defending China" was "The key to their rapid audience expansion".[2] Ellery and Knowles wrote that as the Barrets took stances firmer in support of the Chinese government, "the number of subscribers increased exponentially".[1] The two argued against the description "pro-democracy" for the anti-Hong Kong government protesters in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, and that, according to The Sunday Times, the Xinjiang internment camps are good.[1]

See also

References
  1. Ellery, Ben; Knowles, Tom (2020-01-09). "Beijing funds British YouTubers to further its propaganda war". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  2. Paul, Ethan (2020-10-29). "US-China friction turns into YouTube fame (and laughs) for online influencers". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-01-19. - Alternate link at Yahoo Sports
  3. Parker, Charlie (2021-06-16). "China state TV channel CGTN enlists UK student influencers". The Times. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  4. Allen, Kerry; Williams, Sophie (2021-07-10). "The foreigners in China's disinformation drive". BBC News. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  5. "The foreign legion of YouTubers defending China". The Japan Times. 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
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