Reform UK’s top media presenter has worked for a Chinese state propaganda channel within the past year, the Guardian can reveal.
Ray Addison, who presents the political party’s in-house podcast and social media campaigns, fronted films about Xinjiang province – where the Chinese government is accused of committing genocide – for state media in September 2025.
In the videos, entitled Raymond’s Xinjiang Stories, some of which praise Chinese infrastructure, Addison described himself as a CGTN correspondent. The series was made after Addison left GB News in 2024, where he had worked as a news presenter and reporter.
Xinjiang province has attracted international attention because of alleged human rights abuses against the region’s Muslim Uyghur population by the Chinese state, including claims of forced labour, sterilisation, re-education and mass surveillance.
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Addison’s work for China contrasts with the hard line Reform has taken on Chinese issues ranging from industrial relations to suspected Chinese state espionage within Westminster.
In a social media video posted by GB News in January, Nigel Farage said of the UK’s relationship with China: “I’m very, very nervous about the extent to which China has effectively spied on us, stolen many of our industrial secrets. I’m worried about the extent to which they’ve infiltrated, using money, British universities. We must be cautious about the relationship.”
The videos presented by Addison for CGTN are publicly available on YouTube and carry a warning stating that “CGTN is funded in whole or in part by the Chinese government”.
CGTN lost its licence to broadcast in the UK in 2021 after the regulator Ofcom determined it was ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist party.
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Suella Braverman, [former Home Secretary and Conservative politician and] now a Reform MP, has also made public statements to this effect. On 14 January 2025, before she defected from the Conservative party to Reform, she posted on X: “China is committing genocide in Xinjiang, funding Putin’s war of aggression in Europe and has committed acts of cyber-terrorism against the British people.”
Addison is paid by Reform to produce content about the party and creates social media videos as well as presenting its The Reform UK Podcast. In recent days he has fronted the party’s social media promotion of its conference, which is being held in Birmingham.
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Would you consider hundreds of murders (of mainly the majority population of Xinjiang, which is... Uyghurs) in terrorist attacks by extremists of US/Saudi exported Wahabbism to be a crime?
How about being literally part of Al Quaeda and ISIS?
Oh wait that’s fine now, see the new Western-installed tyrant of Syria. Did you know he still had a multi-million dollar State Department bounty when he visited the White House?
How about a direct comparison with the tender mercies of the West
And before you complain, the ''''''''''East Turkestan'''''''''' ''''''''''Government in exile'''''''''' thinks it's a perfect analogy... though probably not in the way you imagine
Basically your imperial secret police (the CIA, MI6 etc.) tried to inject Saudi-style extremism into an Islamic culture it was alien to, that culture was defended by the most successful and least violent deradicalization campaign conducted anywhere ever, and when your loser death cult FAILED they switched to whining about it in your imperial propaganda rags. But it’s too late idiot! The Uyghurs are safe from you, they have education and jobs and high speed rail. Do you have high speed rail?
Oh yeah, you’re from the UK, why don’t you tell me about Shamima Begum.
The point that @robot_dog_with_gun@hexbear.net was making seems to have been that there is no “propaganda”, yet you’ve mentioned “imperial propaganda rags”.
So I was just wondering how someone from Hexbear would react when it comes to the issue of Uyghurs allegedly being detained in camps without having committed real crimes. The post I replied to said this:
So is the allegation of Uyghurs being detained without having committed real crimes “false”, or is it “true but misleading”?
oh no, there’s definitely propaganda. the critique was of how the guardian uses it and how most westerners have been taught the concept.
There’s a UN report from a couple years ago that we generally accept. China is by no means spotless but the extent of things is grossly exaggerated and what they did do to people is much better than the alternative models for handling violent extremism they could have done instead like bombing civilians and invading unrelated countries.
the emphasis on Uyghurs is propagandistic, similar “human rights abuses” occur elsewhere constantly by governments you aren’t frothed up to hate and you don’t give a shit because you haven’t been told to.