When President Trump declared the mainstream media 'the enemy of the [American] people,' he may have been more right than even he knew.
In a breaking thread that is going viral on X today, White House Correspondent for the Bannon War Room, Natalie Winters, has just exposed a GIGANTIC list of 'journalists' who were treated to CCP-funded trips to China—and more—allegedly in exchange for favorable coverage of the country. The quid pro quo reportedly goes back as far as 2009.
REVEALED: Here Are the Mainstream Journalists on China’s Payroll 🚨
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
I exclusively uncovered the identities of prominent U.S. journalists flown to China by a CCP-linked influence operation seeking “favorable coverage” and “positive messages” about Beijing. 🧵
Winters used public FARA filings, newsletters, and records from the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) to expose the media personalities and published her full report on Substack.
She also listed the names in her thread on X. While we need further confirmation and corroboration of her findings, the list is quite extensive—and will shock absolutely nobody.
The names include:
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
- Ezra Klein, New York Times columnist
- Matthew Yglesias, Vox co-founder
- Ronald Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst
- Bradford Plumer, New York Times reporter
- Marjorie Miller, former Associated Press vice president
Also identified:
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
- Steve Clemons, former The Hill editor-at-large
- David Rohde, MS NOW senior national security reporter
- Jonathan Alter, NBC News and MSNBC political analyst
- David Sweeney, former NPR managing editor
- Daniel Gross, former Yahoo Finance columnist
Also on the roster:
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
- Marilyn Geewax, former NPR senior editor
- Kathleen Deveny, former Newsweek editor
- Tom Omestad, former U.S. News & World Report correspondent
- Steve Chapman, former Chicago Tribune columnist
- Bruce Stokes, former National Journal correspondent
Recommended
But wait. It keeps going ...
The list continues:
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
- Craig Gilbert, former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Washington bureau chief
- Tony Semerad, Salt Lake Tribune reporter
- Shikha Dalmia, former The Week columnist
- Jonathan Broder, former Newsweek senior writer
Also identified:
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
- Cristi Kempf, former Chicago Tribune associate managing editor
- Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times deputy editorial page editor
- Julian Pecquet, former Foreign Affairs reporter
All of the worst media outlets are included: CNN, The New York Times, The Associated Press, NBC, NPR, Newsweek, MS NOW, Vox, and many others.
After naming names, Winters went on to expose who was funding these trips and what the reporters received.
Trip organizer CUSEF was founded by Tung Chee-hwa, a former senior official in the CCP’s United Front system, the influence apparatus Beijing uses to cultivate foreign elites and shape institutions outside China.
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
The access went far beyond conference rooms.
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
American journalists were taken on curated tours through China, including visits to Chinese military bases, by the same network seeking favorable coverage. pic.twitter.com/tLpVm1pGZf
Finally, Winters reached the 'quo' part of the alleged quid pro quo arrangement.
This is where it gets pretty damning for many of the journalists.
Then came the coverage.
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
Shikha Dalmia published “China Bashing is for Losers.”
Bradford Plumer praised Beijing’s climate agenda.
Bruce Stokes warned that economic “decoupling” from China would “backfire.”
Catherine Rampell repeatedly attacked Trump’s China policies.
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
One dispatch from her CUSEF-funded trip amplified Chinese officials portraying America as the aggressor and urged Washington to abandon its “zero-sum-game attitude” toward Beijing.
Matthew Yglesias joked about wanting to “give Party flunkies notes” on improving their “propaganda.”
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
Ezra Klein later credited China with buying America time during COVID.
Former NPR editor Marilyn Geewax later became a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Xi Jinping’s alma mater and one of China’s most politically connected institutions.
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) July 27, 2026
To cap off her report, Winters also noted the close relationship many of the reporters on her list had with Joe Biden and his administration, such as Bruce Stokes, who is married to Biden's Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, and Steve Clemons, who Biden personally introduced to many Chinese officials.
Oh, did we mention that Hunter Biden was with 'the big guy' on that occasion?
Uh Oh ... https://t.co/uw5zIJcpNm
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) July 27, 2026
Ohhh, journos! You've got some 'splainin' to do!
Checks out pic.twitter.com/105uzNfVdc
— WorldGoneMad (@qu3stionevrthg) July 27, 2026
OOF!
That puts Klein's podcast in a whole new light, doesn't it?
ARE THERE ANY M.S. Journalists in the COUNTRY NOT WORKING FOR A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT?
— David S. Rollman (@davidrollman) July 27, 2026
We can only imagine how crestfallen Jim Acosta is that he was never invited on one of the trips.
The Communists who run our newsrooms..... 🇨🇳🛢 https://t.co/DZiWPQK3V7
— Jack Nevil (@JackNeville101) July 27, 2026
No wonder so many in the media refused to cover, or openly mocked, President Trump when he exposed Chinese influence on and interference in American elections.
Now it makes sense right. https://t.co/MLhJBCxy5u
— kat2.0 (@01Kat2) July 27, 2026
It makes all the sense in the world.
@nataliegwinters with the receipts and it’s a delicious indictment of certain members of the Press.
— Matt Mitchell (@DredgeItUp) July 27, 2026
A must read https://t.co/L1IsXrgHpn
American media paid by the CCP…
— Joe Dan Gorman (@JoeDanMedia) July 27, 2026
Receipts by Natalie
That would actually be a good show name “receipts by Natalie“ because Natalie don’t play https://t.co/aRheIr5mbK
Winters is part of the new media who replaced many of the old guard in the White House Press Room when President Trump was reelected in 2024. She has a pretty good track record on exposing corruption. She discovered the racist and homophobic tweets of Sen. John Fetterman's now-former finance director. She did the same with Fani Willis's campaign director.
If nothing else, she has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her reporting.
That's something that NO ONE on her list can claim.
And now we may know one of the big reasons why.
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