Serious Incident at CCTV; Employee Reveals Turmoil Inside the Station

The term "CCTV" (China Central Television), you know what it implies. (Screenshot from the internet

[People News] CCTV, regarded as one of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) most important propaganda outlets, has recently been rocked by internal scandal. An individual claiming to be a mid-level employee at CCTV submitted an article to an overseas platform, revealing that discontent toward Xi Jinping is widespread within the organization and that mocking Xi (“insulting Bao,” a nickname for Xi) has become a trend. The employee claimed there are so many embarrassing clips of Xi’s mistakes and blunders that they could fill several hard drives. On October 13, the same employee made another revelation, saying that chaos had erupted inside CCTV as leaders launched an internal crackdown to investigate leaks.

CCTV Insider: “No One Here Respects Xi Jinping”

On October 4, an X (Twitter) user named “Wall Nation Frog Haha” shared a post, saying they had received a submission from someone claiming to be a mid-level CCTV employee. The whistleblower wrote that “no one inside CCTV has any respect for Xi Jinping.”

Signing the message as “An employee still breathing inside the Big Pants” (a nickname for CCTV’s iconic headquarters building in Beijing’s Third Ring Road), the writer said:“I’m just an ordinary person working in the ‘Big Pants’ building. I’m one of those middle managers you might think of as faceless. But in terms of professionalism and knowledge, we’re all far superior to that bumpkin on stage who can’t even read from a script properly. In private, none of us genuinely respect him.”

The contributor said that CCTV staff scoff at Xi’s “new-era diplomacy,” “new-era economic thought,” and “millennium plans.”

The insider added:“What the public has seen—those classic blooper moments like when he misread the teleprompter and said ‘kui然不动’ (instead of ‘岿然不动’), or when he told Putin during the 2015 parade that organ transplants could make people live to 150—those are just the tip of the iceberg. In reality, Xi’s gaffes and awkward moments could fill several hard drives.”

He continued:“When we edit the daily broadcasts, we literally have to keep the windows open—otherwise, the stench of flattery and bootlicking would choke us to death. Everything is praise and glorification—nothing but songs of greatness and brightness—while the rest of the world is ‘in deep suffering.’ I don’t even let my own children watch the programs we produce. I feel dirty.”

He concluded:“This place is rotten to the core, decayed from the roots. And to the national security agents who might read this: don’t even think about tracking me down. You’re not capable of it. If you push me too far, I’ll leak just one or two of the things I’ve got, and that’ll be enough to make your ‘great leader’ choke on his own medicine.”

Whistleblower: CCTV in Turmoil, Massive Investigation Launched

On October 13, “Wall Nation Frog Haha” posted another update:“The CCTV whistleblower wrote again saying that things inside the station have turned upside down. Many departments have been ordered to investigate leaks. But don’t worry, I remain ‘kui然不动’—calm and unmoved. Thank you all for your concern. Everything is under control!”

The authenticity of this employee’s claims has not been independently verified.

Nonetheless, the posts have sparked heated discussion on X:“Not surprising. These are intelligent people. They all know what kind of country this is and how backward its system is.”“Plenty of anti-CCP people come out of CCTV. With the way Xi runs things, even insiders can’t stand him.”“No one inside or outside the system truly likes ‘Brother Bao.’ Even Cai Qi just flatters him for survival. The CCP’s problems are severe—economic decline, rising tensions. If this continues for two more years, even the most docile pigs will revolt. The regime wants to control everything Chinese people do, but anti-CCP sentiment can’t be suppressed forever.”

State Secrets Bureau Also Warns of Leaks

Coincidentally, on October 10, the WeChat account “Confidentiality Watch” (run by China’s National Administration of State Secrets Protection) published an article complaining that some media had included sensitive information from classified documents in their reports—effectively leaking CCP secrets. The post cited three examples involving journalists, international news agency staff, and a television station. It’s unclear whether this referred to the alleged CCTV whistleblower.

CCTV Suffers Serious Broadcast Blunder

Following the whistleblower’s claims, on October 6, social media users reported that CCTV’s October 5 evening weather forecast had experienced a major broadcast error. Many city forecasts were identical to those from the same day in 2024, suggesting the program had mistakenly reused last year’s data.

For instance, the show reported: Hangzhou: 19–21°C; Nanchang: 21–29°C; Fuzhou: 23–29°C

But the actual temperatures, according to China Weather Network, were drastically higher—27–37°C, 28–36°C, and 26–37°C, respectively. Except for a few places like Shanghai (forecasted 26–35°C, which matched reality), most regions had incorrect data. Netizens compared the figures and found they were nearly identical to those from October 5, 2024.

Mainland outlet Red Star News contacted the Huafeng Meteorological Media Group (under the China Meteorological Administration). A staff member admitted:“Due to a technical malfunction yesterday, the broadcasted program contained errors. We have since fixed the system.”

The company claimed the issue only affected television broadcasts, not online weather data. However, CCTV’s official Xinwen Lianbo Weather Forecast Weibo page and China Weather Network have still not uploaded the October 5 program.

After the incident went public, netizens mocked:“They used to say everything on CCTV was fake except the weather forecast—now even the weather isn’t real!”
“History doesn’t just rhyme—it replays word for word.”△