The Chinese Radio Station You Can Hear Around The World

Governments have long used radio to change minds beyond their borders. Take World War II, when Germany made broadcasts to Britain: William Joyce - nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw by the listening public - provided the German account of news, 'predicting' which towns would be the target of an air raid that night. Joyce was not German but, as a former member of the British Union of Fascists, he sympathised with them, leaving London for Berlin a week before war in 1939. He was on the air there within weeks.

It was all guesswork and propaganda, but the programmes resonated with the British public, exploiting a desire for information from the frontlines. Many listened - almost as many as listened to the BBC News. Some believed him, and found him endearing. Many wanted another perspective of wartime engagements, while others saw it as light entertainment - a welcome alternative to the dull and serious programmes broadcast domestically. Joyce's familiar accent must have helped here, even if he sounded condescending to some, getting German narratives into homes that would have switched off a German voice.