Natalie Winters Names Journalists in China-Funded Trip Report
Investigative reporter Natalie Winters is raising new questions about the relationship between major American media figures and a China-linked influence group.
Winters, known for her work with Bannon’s War Room, published a Substack report claiming that foreign-agent filings point to trips for American journalists organized or funded by the China-United States Exchange Foundation, also known as CUSEF. The group has long drawn scrutiny because of its ties to Chinese Communist Party influence efforts.
According to Winters, the filings showed that operatives working with the group planned journalist trips based on the possibility of “favorable coverage” and wanted to “effectively disseminate positive messages” about Beijing.
That is not a small claim. If reporters from major outlets were given access, travel, meetings, and curated experiences through a CCP-linked network, readers deserve to know about it. Media outlets constantly lecture Americans about transparency. That standard should apply to them too.
Winters wrote that the filings did not clearly name the reporters who went on the trips. She said her investigation cross-referenced the filings with archived newsletters, annual reports, and accounts from the same period to identify participants.
Her report says the roster includes current and former journalists connected to The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post, NPR, the Associated Press, Vox, The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and other well-known outlets.
Winters also claimed that, in some cases, the trips were followed by columns or reports that defended Chinese government policies, criticized President Trump’s tougher approach toward Beijing, or framed the decline of American manufacturing as something that simply could not be stopped.
She posted several names on X, including Ezra Klein of The New York Times, Matthew Yglesias, Ronald Brownstein of CNN, Bradford Plumer of The New York Times, and former Associated Press vice president Marjorie Miller. She also named Steve Clemons, David Rohde, Jonathan Alter, David Sweeney, Daniel Gross, Marilyn Geewax, Kathleen Deveny, Tom Omestad, Steve Chapman, Bruce Stokes, Craig Gilbert, Tony Semerad, Shikha Dalmia, Jonathan Broder, Cristi Kempf, Jon Healey, and Julian Pecquet.
https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/2081761909112783269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/2081761911037935828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/2081761912854073775?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/2081761914926027112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/2081761916759031960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/2081761918705193277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Winters also said the trips were not limited to basic meetings or conference rooms. She claimed the journalists were taken on curated tours in China, including visits to Chinese military bases.
https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/2081761933536149929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The key issue now is accountability. Were these trips disclosed to readers? Did any outlet review the resulting coverage? Were editors aware of who funded or arranged the travel? Those are basic questions, not partisan ones.
China spends heavily on influence abroad. American media companies should be the last place where that effort gets a free pass. If Winters’ reporting is accurate, the public deserves full disclosure from every newsroom involved.